ingénu/e 34, winter 2021/22

ingénu/e

creative talent revealed south downs and high weald : issue 34: winter 21/22

Creative Courses & Workshops start the new year with a creative boost plus interviews & reviews galleries & exhibitions festivals; live music & theatre book reviews; poetry & flash fiction

FRECKLE PRODUCTIONS AND ROSE THEATRE PRESENT

TUE 22nd & WED 23rd FEBRUARY PAVILION THEATRE SAT 16th & SUN 17th APRIL PAVILION THEATRE

ingénu/e

creative talent revealed contents

Greetings ingénu/e readers, and Happy New Year!

How was your Christmas? We at ingénue central had a quiet but very pleasant break, although I was most distressed to discover that 'The Polar Express' was not to be broadcast on any of the channels except Sky, to which we do not subscribe. Christmas Eve just wouldn't be the same! However, reminiscences of our trip to Horsham to watch The Mediaeval Baebes* while gazing at our twinkly Christmas tree soon put me back in the festive frame of mind! (*read our review on page 44)

As we embark on this new year there is a palpable sense of optimism. Gone is the fear and uncertainly which dogged the early days of 2021 and instead we are planning and postulating with renewed energy and bringing forward the positive elements of our run-in with the virus and restrictions occasioned by it.

Creative pursuits, as ever, are key to the enrichment of life and so many of us have turned to these during the last eighteen months; some to find outlets for our energy in the interruption of our usual pastimes, and some as a direct response to the extraordinary situation in which we have found ourselves.

&

editor Gill Kaye editor@ingenuemagazine.co.uk for press releases pressdesk@ingenuemagazine.co.uk sales & marketing Roger Kaye sales@ingenuemagazine.co.uk 07583 944546 online www.ingenuemagazine.co.uk and big thanks to 2 Way Communcations for their invaluable help on the website www.2waycomm.uk

Chichester Festival Theatres’ 60th anniversary season begins in April with The Taxidermist’s Daughter, adapted for the stage by Cicestrian Kate Mosse, based on her No 1 internationally best-selling novel. A story of retribution and justice, The Taxidermist’s Daughter is a thrilling Gothic mystery set in and around historic Chichester.

"if it's not in ingénu/e ...it's not happening!"

Here are two examples of the latter: the book '19 and 20 and Me, personal stories of covid-19 during 2020' which is available from long-term ingénue collaborator Clare Lee (www.19and20andme.co.uk); and writer Roddy Phillips of Bourne to Write, a regular contributor to ingénue, is planning a new anthology, 'Nineteen', populated with stories by Bourne to Write members responding to the pandemic. Read more about this on page 11. Many more artists of all genres and persuasions have responded in like fashion. Some have called it a kind of catharsis.

It is testament to the human spirit that we can turn adversity into aesthetics in this way. Not only as a channel for understanding our own experience but also providing a lens by which future generations can understand what was happening at the time. The existence, and indeed popularity, of war poetry, painting and film recognises that need.

So in this issue, as always, we celebrate creativity of all kinds – the painters, the writers, the sculptors, ceramic artists, textile artists, the jewellery makers, photographers, printmakers, the musicians, composers, actors and dancers – all make the world a brighter place. And a big shout-out to the galleries, theatres and art centres whose tenacity to keep going despite everything enables us to enjoy and share all this creativity.

And in this spirit, in our lead feature, we acknowledge those who teach and encourage those who would learn. In-person learning is back with a bang and, for some tutors, augmenting this traditional method is distance learning via Zoom. This silver lining to the covid cloud now enables students who are unable to join in person to still learn as part of a wider group. So get you busy and avail yourself of these riches!

–Gill Kaye, editor

Creative Courses & Workshops

WEST DEAN COLLEGE OF ARTS & CONSERVATION

Summer Schools –Your Creative Retreat in 2022

Escape the everyday, learn something new, hone your existing talents or even begin a journey towards further creative education on an arts and craft Summer School at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation. In the height of summer and at a time when international travel may again be uncertain, Summer Schools offer a hassle-free option and the chance to focus on your creativity whilst making the most of the College’s beautiful gardens and surrounding landscape.

Highlights:

• Spend a short session in one of the other courses to learn something new

• Evening talks by tutors

• Sign-up for an optional evening at Chichester Festival Theatre

• Tours of West Dean Gardens, the historic rooms at West Dean College or West Dean Tapestry Studio

• End of week exhibitions and group reviews

• Celebration dinner on the final evening

Courses include:

• Enamel: imagery and effects with Shelia R McDonald, 22–28 July 2022

• Mixed media art textiles – marks from the land with Alice Fox, 22–28 July 2022.

• Creative photography – making captivating photographs with David Clapp, 22–28 July 2022

• Reshaping cloth – print and manipulation with Caroline Bartlett, 29 July – 4 August 2022

• Drawing to painting in oils – the figure in summer with Tim Patrick, 29 July – 4 August 2022

• Making decorative papers and books with Tracey Bush, 5–11 August 2022

• Writing from life – finding shape and form in your writing, with Hannah Vincent, 5–11 August 2022

Find out more and see all courses: www.westdean.ac.uk

top: Creative Photography at West Dean College, photo by Chris Ison; inset: Reshaping Cloth, Caroline Bartlett

spotlight on... creative courses & workshops

ART JUNCTION

Planning More Sculpture And Art Masterclasses For Spring And Summer Terms

Billingshurst-based sculpture and art studio, Art Junction, sitting alongside platform 2 of Billingshurst railway station, have announced their ‘Masterclass’ course for the first half of 2022. All courses will be covid compliant with fewer than normal numbers.

Award winning tutors

The programme includes two courses from Art Junction tutor Hazel Reeves, recent winner of a prestigious Public Sculpture and Statues Association Marsh award for her much loved sculpture of Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester. She receives the award in such esteemed company as Phyllida Barlow, Briony Marshall and Rachael Whiteread. Hazel will deliver two Masterclasses in the first half of 2022. Other sculpture Masterclasses will be given by Mark Longworth and Michael Joseph. For 2-D artists, Art Junction favourite Ben LaughtonSmith will run a three-day Masterclass on Portraits in Charcoal and Chalk.

Regular weekly studio classes

With business (hopefully) back to a semblance of normality, Art Junction will be running weekly life drawing classes in the studio, along with small free-form sculpture classes. Hot benching is available at an hourly rate for sculptors who wish to work by themselves in a creative environment with access to supportive advice. Use of the kiln is also available. In the light of continuing covid restraints weekly studio classes generally need to be pre-booked.

For full details, prices and to book online visit www.artjunction.uk/in-studio-courses/

THE JEWELLERY WORKSHOP

Introducing new Beginners Silver Jewellery Making classes at the Jewellery Workshop Lindfield, especially tailored for beginners.

Classes are held on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, 10am to 1pm. Classes are limited to a maximum of three people to allow everyone to have plenty of space.

Each workshop introduces you to a new jewellery skill and gives everyone the opportunity to create an individual piece of hand crafted silver jewellery, for example earrings, pendants and rings. The cost of each workshop is £50 and includes the cost of silver.

Please contact for more details and to book your place! Tel: 07775 884990 or visit www.thejewelleryworkshop.co.uk

spotlight on... creative courses & workshops

WRITING FOR LIFE

If you’ve always wanted to write a book but keep delaying, then here’s a solution. Our new course ‘Write Your Book’ takes you through writing a book, of any type, in real time, over a year. With one session per month, you will be guided through the whole process, from turning your idea into a workable structure, to progressing, chapter-by-chapter, dealing with setbacks along the way. You will get some feedback and write in the company of others, committed to completing a book in a year. You will also get advice on submitting to agents and/or publishers, should you wish to do so.

This course is offered in three different ways: faceto-face for those in East Sussex, able to attend in person; virtually, via Zoom, so you can join the sessions even if you can’t get there physically; and recorded, so that if the time/day does not work for you and you can’t make every session you don’t miss out. Make 2022 the year that you actually get that book written. It’s £255 for twelve sessions, so just £21.25 per month to realise a dream. For further details or to enrol go to www.helenstockton.co.uk or contact Helen Stockton on 07784 538965 or email stocktonwriting@gmail.com.

WEEKLY ART CLASSES WITH ROZ NATHAN

RozNathan is a Natural History Artist and a very experienced, qualified art tutor who continues to offer her range of popular weekly classes online via Zoom. Relaxed, enjoyable group project sessions in the comfort of your own home include close-up demos, discussion of examples of techniques and approaches, and supportive, encouraging feedback. All sessions are easy to join, recorded and exclusively available for students to access afterwards.

Roz is also planning some small face-to-face classes at her rural Stone Cross studio after Easter, with free parking and beautiful views across the Downs. Further details available nearer the time, including covid measures. Please feel free to register an interest.

Spring courses on Zoom start week beginning 10th January 2022 – most can be joined after the start date – and include Creative Collage (organic subjects), Wildlife Art (drawing British wildlife), Botanical (loose approaches, mixed media) and Landscape (water-based, mixed media and gesso techniques sessions).

Alternative online options, including monthly live painting demos, mentoring, 1-1/1-2 sessions, and personal project feedback will be available end of February onwards.

For student testimonials and more details on regular classes, one-off workshops, Summer Schools in East Dean, info on painting holidays/Art Society talks, exhibitions and work for sale go to: www.roznathanart.com, find her on social media, facebook/roznathanart; instagram/roznathanart; or contact roz.nathan@hotmail.com; 07913 080061.

top: Writing For Life students in person and via Zoom; below: Roz Nathan's students at work in the studio; inset: Zoom screenshot of teasel painting workshop

spotlight on... creative courses & workshops

ALICE HESKETH

Portrait Class

Do you have a fascination with faces? Come and learn about portraiture in a friendly, inclusive class in the centre of Eastbourne with portrait artist and teacher Alice Hesketh.

This six-week course is suitable for beginners and those who wish to learn how to create a realistic portrait using simple drawing techniques.

I shall guide you through the basic principles of how to draw a face, teaching you about scale and proportion in relation to the head. We will have a model for some classes as well as studying our own images to practice observational drawing. Using a variety of materials such as charcoal, ink and pastels will give students the opportunity to experiment with different techniques and create an expressive portrait.

To book a place on the course email Alice at alice_hesketh@hotmail.co.uk.

Classes take place in the studio and are limited to seven students. Course price is £110 which includes materials and refreshments.

Course dates: 12th February to 19th March and the course day and time is Saturday 10.30-12.30pm.

Location: Studio 2, 11 Cornfield Lane, Eastbourne, BN21 4NS. Visit www.aliceheskethart.co.uk for more details and follow on Instagram: aliceheskethart.

CREATE MUSIC

launches as

joint music education service

for

the South East

Create Music, a joint collaboration bringing together the educational services of Brighton & Hove Music & Arts (BHMA) and East Sussex Music (ESM), will offer music tuition to more people across the South East region.

As one of the largest providers of music education in the UK, Create Music reaches over 9600 children and young people across 262 participating schools and music centres, spanning from Hove to Hastings. The service is managed by Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, as part of their remit to remove barriers to cultural experiences across age, ability and communities. The service has recently expanded its offer to online

courses for adults from beginners to advanced level. Both services have a long history in teaching music and have an impressive list of alumni who have forged successful careers, including singer songwriter and Brit Award winner Celeste, who grew up in Brighton and Grammy nominated composer John Powell, known for his work on films such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.

Research from the University of Sussex’s School of Psychology found that music education can have a profoundly positive impact on young people’s wellbeing, particularly those who are marginalised or in need of support. Making music, writing lyrics and developing personal music tastes allows young people to explore and express their emotions and discover their identity, empowering individuals and giving them a community in which they can thrive.

Create Music services are in participating schools, music centres and online. Tuition fees aim to be affordable, with funding available for families who may need support. Full details can be found at www.createmusic.org.uk.

spotlight on... creative courses & workshops

JEWELLERY MAKING WORKSHOPS

Since moving to Walberton near Arundel two years ago Katherine Lawrie has been working to create a purpose designed, fully equipped studio. This is now up and running, ready for workshops.

Students are encouraged to think creatively and learn techniques in a design led process. Having taught in local institutions she found that adult learners often want to create jewellery for a purpose rather than just to learn a process. Students learn the basics of jewellery making and then move on to more complex methods when they are ready.

The workshop groups are always small, allowing a good tutor to student ratio. One to one classes are also available. Each student works individually rather than on a group project, allowing beginners and those with some knowledge to work comfortably within the same group, this is beneficial to all. Katherine is very happy to advise on purchasing tools and materials and regularly has visits from gemstone suppliers for students.

Sessions are run on Tuesday mornings (three-hour session) fortnightly, or once a month Saturday or Sunday (fivehour session).

Look at her website for prices, details and a link to availability. www.klawriejewellery.co.uk/workshops

top: Katherine Lawrie at work in her studio; top right inset: work in progress;

workshops

WEEKEND

ARTING with CATHY BIRD

Inspirational, Individual, Fulfilling & Fun

Ifyou are looking for an enriching experience that will take your art practice onto a new level, then these concentrated weekend art courses may be just right for you.

Experience shows that great progress can be made in a short, concentrated period. Here we offer just the right balance of intensity and fun with lots of individual assistance. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve.

After a lifetime of painting and teaching, Kent artist Cathy Bird MA set up her studio at Jessops Farm Studios and has been running successful tutoring sessions there ever since.

Jessops Farm Studios, Tonbridge Road, Bough Beech, Kent TN8 7AU. For details contact Cathy on 01892 870067 or weekendarting@gmail.com.

More details on www.weekendarting.com.

spotlight on... creative courses &

STUDIO 11

Studio 11 re-opened its doors to students fully in September and we have enjoyed getting back into the creative groove together. Based in Eastbourne, the studio specialises in textiles: surface design, stitching, weaving, felting and much more.

International textile artist Christine Chester runs the studio and enjoys working with students doing all sorts of different things. She has spent

THE MILL STUDIO

Education

education education…

the last 30-plus years teaching textiles and has an indepth knowledge of techniques, but also enjoys the challenge of working with people on all their projects and helping take them forward.

Always trying to offer new subjects, Christine is introducing a new class in January, Strictly Colour. In the full day studio class printing and dyeing will be included, or the Zoom half day class where most of the work will be done on paper.

The course will look at both dyes and paints: how to get that perfect purple or lime green; how to manage and combine colours.

Inspiration is another topic which interests Christine. She has built a hybrid (online & studio simultaneously) course: Notice What You Notice. This is an interesting course which can be taken by anyone who wants to broaden their understanding of the creative process, as it is all about inspiration, research and experimentation.

With six full 2m print benches in the studio now, there remains plenty of space for everyone to work safely, with creative sharing and inspiration from peers as well as Christine.

Courses can be booked and paid for on the Studio 11 website www.studio11eb.co.uk and for any questions email Christine at studio11eastbourne@yahoo.com.

Remember those words? Well at The Mill Studio, Arundel, it’s always been what we do best. On offer are oil painting and any and all ways of drawing, and throughout our programme individual tuition is the main objective with the big plus of working within our small groups. The maximum size of any class is ten which gives not only space between each easel but also ensures a good balance of the

attention everyone needs.

Where students prefer set projects we then discuss the theme and objective and set their personal timetable. In all classes we encourage interest in and commentary on each other’s work through informal chats at break time and during regular group crits.

Elements of Drawing does what it says on the tin but the outcomes might surprise you. We explore scale/ perspective/choice of medium/choice of subject/ colour/tone…. I could go on but you get the picture.

Drawing is what it’s all about. In the oil painting classes we are also exploring drawing but in these groups we are involved with outcomes in oil paint. Our regular evenings in Life Drawing also explore medium and outcome but these are untutored groups where we work from one pose per half term. This affords each student the choice of either working on longer pieces of work or by moving round the room to see the model from all angles and make a series of varied drawings.

Please do visit www. moorhouse-art.com and use the contact page to enquire about any of the courses on offer. Many thanks and I hope to welcome you to The Mill Studio in 2022.

All best, Karin.

GREATER BRIGHTON METROPOLITAN COLLEGE

Pursue your Passion

AtGreater Brighton Metropolitan College we believe it's our job to celebrate ambition, unlock potential and transform lives. Now is the time to look ahead and follow your heart – our distinguished, dedicated staff are here to assist you in achieving your dreams, goals and aspirations.

Whether you’re looking to pick up a new hobby, improve your employability prospects or try your luck at a whole new career, we have something to offer you at the MET.

We offer a wide range of courses for adult learners

above:

Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, display of works; left:

Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, photography studio

spotlight on... creative courses & workshops

of all levels, many starting January and February of 2022. Our part time, degree-level courses include:

Fine art

Explore a range of specialist areas such as painting, printmaking, drawing, sculpture, installation and photography through practical workshops and inductions. Our campuses also feature competitively priced art supply shops.

Illustration

Try your hand at traditional, digital and innovative illustration techniques. Taught by award-winning professionals, with past students having won prizes from global publishers such as Macmillan and Plum Pudding.

Photography

Develop as a photographic artist, documentarian and visual communicator. With professional studios and a darkroom at your disposal, this could be your chance to develop your passion into an expertise.

Textile design

Further your personal and artistic development through this comprehensive textile course. Our creative workshops will guide you through core skills such as design development, printed textiles, fabric manipulation and pattern cutting.

Full details at www.gbmc.ac.uk/part-time

WRITING YOUR LIFE

Whenit comes to writing, your life is your material and it's around you every day,” says Bourne to Write tutor Roddy Phillips, “combine your experience with a little imagination and you have fiction.”

Over the years Roddy has helped countless numbers of people express themselves through creative writing and if ever there was a time to tell your story it's right now.

“Globally we’re going through a collective trauma of sorts,” says Roddy, “we’re living through a once-percentury pandemic and have experienced the effects of lockdown on the body, spirit and mind. I thought it would be remiss of us not to collect our writers' work and publish it as a time capsule in prose and poetry.

‘Nineteen’ is the next Bourne to Write Workshop anthology, it will be available on Amazon in paperback and kindle and you could be part of it. There is no publication fee and the standard of production will be very high.

Learning Creative Writing and making like-minded friends is even easier with the Workshops on Zoom and your first one will be free.

“At first the Zoom workshops were a lifeline,” says Roddy, “but now they’ve become a way of life and a new way of learning to write.”

If you’d like to join a Bourne to Write Zoom workshop and contribute to the ‘Nineteen’ anthology contact Roddy on bournetowrite1@gmail.com or 07758 36747. For more, visit www.bournetowrite.co.uk

SCULPTURE AND ART MASTERCLASSES

EARLY 2022

• Sculpting the Figure in Clay:

Mark Longworth – 5 Thursdays from March 3rd until Mar 31st

• The Joy of Abstract:

Michael Joseph – 6 Wednesdays from March 9th until Apr 13th

• Portrait Head in Clay:

Hazel Reeves – 5 Saturdays from May 7th until June 4th

• Portrait in Charcoal and Chalk: Ben Laughton-Smith – Long weekend June 17th until 19th

For full details, prices and to book visit: www.artjunction.uk/in-studio-courses/

Roz Nathan

Art Courses / Workshops

Weekly relaxed, enjoyable live Zoom courses from January on a range of topics, with sessions recorded and available exclusively to student course groups. Demos, discussions, live group project working with supportive, encouraging feedback. See website for future face-to-face course plans.

Painting / techniques live streaming demos, mentoring, 1-1 sessions, personal project guidance and more available from the end of February.

For details and testimonials: www.roznathanart.com roz.nathan@hotmail.com • 07913 080061 •

Weekend art courses in the heart of Kent

Coming this year: Weekend Courses in Watercolour, Portrait Painting, Music as Abstract Art, Portrait Head in Clay, Painting Cats. Dates to be released on our website.

Weekend Arting, Jessops Farm Studios, Tonbridge Road, Bough Beech, Kent TN8 7AU For details call Cathy 01892 870067 • cathy.bird1@btopenworld.com • www.weekendarting.com

www.gbmc.ac.uk/part-time

September Start

Alice Hesketh

Portrait Class

•six-week course suitable for beginners

•experiment with different techniques and materials

•materials & refreshments included

•12th Feb to 19th March Saturday 10.30-12.30

Jewellery Making Workshops

Most basic techniques are covered within the first few classes and can then be explored. More complex skills can be introduced, including stone setting, charcoal casting, box making, surface texturing and reticulation. All classes are design led, and the individual should steer their own learning to achieve their personal goals.

•Studio 2, 11 Cornfield Lane, Eastbourne, BN21 4NS

•to book email: alice_hesketh@hotmail.co.uk

aliceheskethart.co.uk

aliceheskethart.co.uk

visual arts & contemporary crafts

Blueview Art Studio

As Blueview Art Studio enters its sixth year in 2022, what lies in store? Well, firstly we would like to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Secondly, the Studio is having a shake up and although it’s open all year round by appointment, it will be hosting a number of Open House Weekends with a mix of artists, starting with an Easter special Open House Weekend on Sat and Sun 16th & 17th April from 11.00am to 5.00pm.

Susie Olford

All eyes on 2022; the coming of Spring to hail new hopes for Art, Drama, the weather and normality.

Spring starts the ball rolling on Exhibitions and Art Trails for Artists and You to enjoy. Personally, I am looking forward to preparing paintings for my first 2022 Art Trail back in its original slot: the early May Bank Holiday weekend, plus Saturday and Sunday 7th and 8th May, five days in total.

The Chichester/Regis title of this Trail doesn’t explain well my geographic setting. My Venue is easily found on the edge of the A259 between Littlehampton and Felpham; PO22 8NJ. It is Flansham, a hamlet, one quiet lane home to my lovely, light-filled, spacious barn. Space to move about, fresh air and free parking. You may be surprised at the setting, and the numbers of contemporary oil and acrylic paintings on show! Warm, colourful and expressive palette knife work to delight, from inspiration of land and sea.

Until May, my amusing Wine greeting

This will be followed by Open House Weekends in June: 11th & 12th and 18th & 19th, 11.00am to 5.00pm and a final Open House Weekend on 3rd & 4th September 11.00am to 5.00pm.

The Christmas Opening will also be changing and is scheduled for Saturday 19th November 10.30am to 12.30pm.

You might also keep an eye out for art and craft days as we will be inviting local artists to the Studio giving you the opportunity to try a new craft over coffee and cake.

Be sure to follow us on our Instagram page and website for further details.

You’ll find the Studio tucked away down a little lane at 1 The Strand, Ferring, BN12 5QX tel: 07990 521587; email blueviewartstudio@gmail. com; www.instagram.com/blueviewartstudio and www.facebook.com/blueviewartstudio.

Visit www.blueviewartstudio.co.uk for more information. We are open daily by appointment with drop-in Sundays 3.00 to 5.30pm. Parking is available and we are wheelchair friendly.

shoreham gallery

Shoreham Art Gallery can be relied upon to present fresh and uplifting artworks for a new season and 2022 will be no exception.

Apart from the Gallery full of interesting and affordable items, our guest artist Lara Sparks will be presenting her fabulous textiles all through February. Lara’s machine embroidered lampshades, wall art and cushions are light and bright, featuring plants, birds and insects, perfect for a spring make-over.

In March our regular Gallery members Georgia Major and Bebe Bird bring together a unique exhibition of vibrant paintings with an element of fantasy and organic ceramic sculptures for your enjoyment. 'Curves and Abstracts – a Celebration of Art and Nature' can be found in our Little Big Exhibition upstairs and in addition, ceramic sculpture can be found in our charming Sculpture Garden.

14th February is Valentine’s Day, an excuse to browse and find an unusual and unique gift. The window display will no doubt feature a selection of hearts in glass, pottery, print, fabric, mosaic and fine jewellery with more inside.

Mother’s Day is Sunday 8th May this year, so be prepared! A special painting or print could be the perfect gift. We offer a free gift-wrapping service on Mother’s Day, so please take advantage of this. If you are unsure about what to buy, we sell gift vouchers of any value to be spent in the Gallery.

You can find out more information and the latest news about what’s going on in the Gallery by visiting www.shorehamgallery.co.uk/news/ where you can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Inspirational Art

GalleryBN5 is an artist run gallery in Henfield High Street, offering unique & creative art. We invite new artists to join us and be part of a friendly team exhibiting and selling their work. Space available includes windows, wall and shelving, all designed to display art at its best, see our website for more details.

High Street, Henfield Open Mon-Sat 10-2pm www.gallerybn5.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/ lighthousegalleryeastbourne/ The Lighthouse Gallery Eastbourne 19 Cornfield Terrace, BN21 4NS 07748354879. Open Tues-Sat 10am-5pm Find us on Facebook and Instagram original work by 25 local artists and makers fabulous coffee and cake unusual plant gifts life drawing classes

https://www.facebook. com/The-Lighthouse-Gallery-109961087991355

Uncommonly Distinctive Studio Jewellery

Every piece of Lorraine’s hand made jewellery is individual; this means no two pieces are the same, ever.

COMMISSION ENQUIRIES INVITED

https://www.instagram.com/lorrainegibbyinspiredjewellery/

visual arts & contemporary crafts

STRESSED?

Try this easy tip from artist Gill Bustamante…

I want to share a simple method of finding relief from stress that may be obvious to some (especially fellow walkers, artists and children) but may not be to others.

Artists have many functions and almost all of them involve the artist observing something and then filtering that idea through their own unique outlook and then presenting it to others. My own method of painting involves walking in countryside and then stopping every now and then to see what performance nature is putting on for me. It is different from day to day and from season to season.

And the tip is this. Try walking (preferably in a park or countryside but a residential road will do, or even a shopping centre or house if there's no other choice) and just stopping every now and then to note some things you have not noticed before or that are beautiful or ugly or odd or intriguing. I guarantee there is always something. Then count how many different sounds you can hear at that exact moment. Then how many different scents you can pick up. Touch some flowers or trees or fences or furniture and note the textures and temperatures. You could also try tasting

things (to complete your five main senses) but I am not advocating that unless you are in a cake shop, in which case knock yourself out. And finally note that different places have different atmospheres attached to them. For example, go under a tree and note how different that feels than being in a field.

It sounds too simple but what this will do is get you more tuned into the environment you are in and less tuned into the stuff that you are worried about. Whether or not you're an artist this makes you more able to deal with life's problems as a result. Try it! If you then come home and create or paint something – all the better but either way, I can honestly say I am at my happiest when out walking.

Hope it may help a few, Gill Bustamante.

Gill Bustamante, Artist and Art Tutor, 07815 036576 www.gillbustamante.com www.facebook.com/GillBustamanteArtist www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SussexPaintings https://www.pinterest.co.uk/gillbustamante/abstractlandscapes-by-gill-bustamante/ https://www.instagram.com/gill.bustamante.artist/ https://www.youtube.com/c/GillBustamante

visual arts & contemporary crafts

top: Sarah Sepe, Brighter Times; right: Barry Williams, Chichester Harbour Abstract

Monthly Artists’ Networking Breakfasts in Worthing

Sarah and Barry from West End Gallery believe in the power of art to lift the spirits and provide a welcome distraction in these uncertain times.

Their informal monthly Artists’ Networking Breakfasts are a great way to meet and chat to other local artists, and anyone interested in the arts, in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

“You will find us in the garden, or the well-ventilated garden pavilion, at Brewhouse & Kitchen in Wykeham Road, Worthing BN11 4JD. There’s no need to tell us that you are coming. Just turn up at any time between 9am and 11am. Food can be purchased at the bar, but most people are happy to sit with a coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

We always meet on the 7th of every month, same place, same time, all year round. There’s plenty of free parking and the Stagecoach ‘Pulse’ bus stops right outside.”

Sarah and Barry are always happy to welcome you to the West End Gallery at 87 Rowlands Road. Core opening times are Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-2pm.

For more information and a link to sign up to a reminder each month visit www.worthingartstudios.com

You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram @westendgalleryworthing.

The Lighthouse Gallery, Eastbourne

A warm welcome awaits at the Lighthouse Gallery in Eastbourne, a vibrant gallery celebrating and supporting local artists, artisans and makers.

With work by 25 local artists and makers, it is the ideal place to browse for unique pieces and gift ideas while enjoying our fabulous coffee and cake. Choose from original paintings, prints, photographs, ceramics, jewellery, turned wood, driftwood sculpture, textiles and fused glass, all made locally by hand. We also have a wonderful selection of unusual plant gifts.

Life drawing classes will be starting on Thursday evenings in January, follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more details.

The Lighthouse Gallery Eastbourne, 19 Cornfield Terrace, BN21 4NS. 07748 354879.

Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm.

right: Chris Hesketh, raku birds

far right: Colin Dowle, turned wooden bowl

visual arts & contemporary crafts

7 Hyde Gardens, Eastbourne, BN21 4PN

visual arts & contemporary crafts

Brewers Towner International open call to artists

Brewers Towner International is an open call exhibition that will take place at Towner Eastbourne in 2022, featuring both British and International artists.

The Brewers Towner Award of £10,000, sponsored by Brewers Decorator Centres, will be awarded to one of the exhibiting artists.

Towner is inviting artists to submit works for consideration through an online Open Call process, which is now open!

Submissions from professional artists working in all media, including – but not restricted to – painting, drawing, print, sculpture, sound, performance, photography, film and installation are welcome.

There is no cost to enter, and all exhibiting artists will receive a fee of £350. Submissions can be made by artists working across the UK and internationally, at least one third of exhibiting artists will be selected from Towner’s coastal region – being born or based in Sussex, Kent and Hampshire.

While this is primarily an opportunity to present work within Towner’s gallery spaces, site specific and off-site installations in the Eastbourne area will also be considered.

An esteemed panel of guest judges including

Sepake Angiama (Director, Iniva), Elizabeth Price (Turner Prize winning artist), and Noelle Collins (Exhibitions & Offsite Curator, Towner) will select artists for the exhibition.

This year Towner invites submissions that explore the theme of SANCTUARY – which can be interpreted as a physical space, a place offering safe haven, asylum or refuge; it can be understood as an area or environment where endangered species are protected, diverse ecosystems flourish and wildlife is preserved; it can also suggest a space of the imagination, a meditative mental space of solace and respite from the exterior world.

Submission deadline is 5pm GMT Monday 31st January 2022.

Visit https://townereastbourne.org.uk to read the submission guidelines or as a PDF download.

pictured: Benedict Drew, The Bad Feel Loops, from the exhibition Towner International 2020.

visual arts & contemporary crafts

NEW ART GALLERY, Eastbourne

an exhbition of land and seascapes by

Leila Godden

19th February to 3rd April

Sussex-based Leila Godden is a contemporary painter specialising in seascapes and abstract paintings using acrylics.

Her seascapes explore the vast panorama of changing light, dramatic weather and powerful water, framed by rocks solid with history, yet transient with time and the rhythm of the earth. Brought up on the coast, this environment has a deep resonance within her.

In response to the events of 2020 her work became more gestural and abstract, reflecting time spent at home in her garden. She abandoned a limited palette, creating paintings imbued with the vibrancy inspired by sunlight on petals. Moments of simple joy in an uncertain world are translated into shapes and gestural marks which have been allowed to form and settle. This new experimentation is producing nuanced pieces in which elements are pared

back, inviting space into the composition.

Her paintings are intended to evoke a visceral response in you, the viewer, something deeper than just 'seeing'. Perhaps it taps into a memory or feeling personal to you. Beyond words but sensed and understood.

For more information visit www.newart-gallery.co.uk

EMOTIVE: 13 artists = 13 stories public statements out of private matters

The Emotive exhibition spans two floors of the grade 1 listed Regency Town House in Brunswick Square, Hove.

It shows the work of thirteen artists: eight graduates and five second year students from the University of Brighton. Studying towards an MA in Sequential Design and Illustration they reached an understanding that although their individual project themes varied, the depth of research and an exploration of their deep inner feelings linked them together as a group.

The stories told are embedded with personal experiences, but they also share a universal narrative, inviting their audience to become involved, to participate, to become EMOTIVE. The work reflects both their individual skills as illustrators, designers, animators and writers and the multiplicity of the their cultural backgrounds.

The artists have experimented with media, techniques and formats which challenge their usual working methods and this shift in their working practice has led to them finding new ways to communicate their stories. This visually diverse exhibition of multidisciplinary work is the result of their inquiry.

One of the artists, Jo Pinto, is a Portuguese illustrator and animator based in Brighton. She has written and illustrated a children’s picture book to pose the universal question: how

many times have we found ourselves facing a massive problem when the solution was right before our eyes? Her story encourages children and adults alike to nurture their lateral thinking and to communicate with one another.

During the week of the exhibition the artists will be inviting the public to join them in related workshops. From 8th to 13th February. emotive-collective.eventbrite.co.uk

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Arts Junction at the Vic, Arundel

‘Arts Junction’ is a brand new mixed arts venture in the heart of Arundel.

Arundel is such a rich melting pot of music and theatre and the visual arts, but what’s been missing is a way of bringing them together. Hence ‘Arts Junction – a meeting of the arts’, a chance for artists to bring and take away ideas and inspiration from across as many art forms as the local community can foster.

Vic’s gallery rooms over the weekend immediately preceding the evenings, which take place on a Monday.

The event will be a regular monthly evening offering up a mixture of poetry, music, theatre and visual art provided by different artists each month. Barry Smith, Mike Carey, Bill Brennan and Karin Moorhouse will curate each of their respective art interests to ensure a balanced and varied mix of artistic expression.

The evening will take place in the newly refurbished theatre space of the Red Room at the Victoria Institute in Tarrant Street, Arundel and the visual artists will have the opportunity to exhibit their work in one of the

Tickets are £12 and all the money goes directly to the artists involved in the evening. ‘Arts Junction’ kicks off on January 10th 2022. For more details and tickets visit www.thevictoriainstitute.com

visual arts & contemporary crafts

Hamish Pringle 'Fancy a beach walk'

Fancy a beach walk? Most people really enjoy walking along a beach. It’s where shore, sea, and sky meet, and this all-encompassing nature facilitates conversation and reflection. Certainly, it never fails to inspire me.

From my vantage point I see a never-ending procession of people walking or standing talking on the beach. I take long-distance photographs of these anonymous silhouettes and use them to make collages with sandpaper, chalks and oil pastels.

In this abrasive process the images become pixilated with their outlines nibbled away like Giamcometti’s walking figures. His archetypes somehow reveal more humanity than an accurate representation, and I hope that my abstracted beach walkers will enable the viewer to see themselves in them.

It’s fascinating to watch the movements of individuals and groups as they coalesce and disperse. So many stories can be inferred from the body language of couples and the stances of people in groups. Who knows how they met, what conversations occur, and which agreements are made?

I’m reminded of Gormley’s cast iron bodyforms bearing witness to the ebb and flow of people and tides at Crosby Beach, Liverpool. The durability of his material facing off against the power of the elements in a battle whose winner we can forecast.

I see the beach as a huge expanse of sandpaper. As they walk it, people tread down worm casts, crush myriad shells, and impress their temporary footprints upon the shore. All these traces to be swept away by the next tide, after which the parade begins again, with new stories being written in the sand.

Hamish Pringle ‘Beach Walkers’ series https:// www.artistsathome.co.uk/artist/86/hamish-pringle

pictured from top left: Hamish Pringle, 'Beach Walkers – Pink Sanded Beach' 2021. 17 x 26cm.

Alberto Giacometti, 'The Square II' 1948. 23 x 63.5 x 43.5cm.

Hamish Pringle, 'Beach Walkers – Two Friends' 2021. 17 x 26cm.

top: Antony Gormley, 'Another Place' 1997. 17 life-sized body-casts.

above: Hamish Pringle, 'Beach Walker – With Her Dog' 2021. 17 x 26cm.

visual arts & contemporary crafts

Artgenu/e

by Lesley Samms

What’s the Story? – Artists and Gallery

Owners talking about their unique journey

For this Spring edition we speak to artist Liza Mackintosh. Liza will be exhibiting in a solo exhibition at the Curlew, Bodiam, East Sussex from 8th January until 4th May 2022.

Liza was born in Katoomba Australia and moved to Sussex as a small child. Having family in both Australia and Canada she was lucky to spend lots of her childhood in both these beautiful countries. She would visit the Blue Mountains and go for long walking adventures through the Rocky Mountains in Alberta Canada.

“Growing up in an artistic home I was continually exposed to art and gained a lot of joy in painting and creating from a young age. My mum would frequently take us to exhibitions and some of my earliest memories of engaging with the art world come from trips to London as a child and experiencing the wonder of the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern. Most notably Olafur Eliasson’s glowing orange sun from The Weather Project in 2003 and Rachel Whiteread’s sculpture ‘Embankments’, 2005.

“As a child, engaging with the arts by drawing at home or at museums and galleries were some of

my happiest memories. Today I love seeing what my artist contemporaries are creating. Seeing their work online and in person is a huge inspiration and influence on me and my artistic practice. Having a community of other artists is so important for artists to strive as well as to challenge and develop their own work.”

Liza always knew she wanted to pursue a career as an artist, and therefore from a young age chose to specialise in art subjects at school. At A Level she had the chance to select Art as a Double Award in Art and Design, meaning she could have more time to really focus on her passion.

She completed her Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at Falmouth in Cornwall.

“This year was an amazing experience. I left home for the first time and spent a year in the beautiful art studios in Cornwall where I discovered all manner of artistic pursuits. This included book binding, drawing large scale drawings on the local beaches, clay and wood sculptures, printmaking and, most alluring for me, painting. The diversity of expression with the medium of paint has always fascinated me and therefore I followed the path that led me to painting.”

Once completing her Diploma at Falmouth, she began a Degree at Wimbledon College of Art, being one of the only universities to have a Fine Art course that specialized in Painting.

“Organising and initiating my own artistic practice and allowing the paintings to direct the ideas behind my work were all key learning points from my degree. As well as being exposed to the wealth of museums, galleries and artistic culture that

visual arts & contemporary crafts

studying in London offers an aspiring artist.”

Liza’s artist practice consists of creating uplifting and calming abstract paintings inspired by the landscape around her. The sky, weather and evolving seasons influence her choices in the studio.

“The colours I work with, the marks I make, and the feel of the painting all derive from my direct experience from walking in the landscape and the memories that I have from it.

“The paintings are created by many thoughtful layers, building up on the canvas, wood, or paper in an intuitive and organic way much like the landscape they refer to. I work in oil and acrylic but lean towards oil for the richness and versatility that this wonderful medium offers. I hope my paintings can transport the viewer to the hinted places that inspired them and evoke their own personal experience from looking at the paintings through the expression of my own.”

Alongside the landscape her muse is the act of painting itself, how gesture and mark making – the process of painting itself – can express memories and thoughts that evoke the feel of a landscape.

“The simple pleasure of exploring mark making in paint, mixing colour and being creative in the studio are huge motivators for me as an artist. I strive to capture a feeling and energy in my paintings that can be allusive, overcoming this challenge when a painting finally comes into its own is the best feeling. As my paintings take place intuitively, I never know how a painting will end up when it is complete, and this journey keeps me on my toes during the painting process.

“Outside the direct process of making my work, connecting with those that admire and identify with my paintings always brings me a lot of joy. Hearing how my paintings bring calm, happiness and love into a collector’s home means so much. Owning an original painting that you really love is a particularly special addition to a home. I am motivated to continue creating work that can ignite a feeling of connection and happiness in my collector’s lives.

“‘New Moments’ is an oil painting on wood that has a light and upbeat energy influenced by Spring. Blossoms were beginning to appear as well as a feeling of hope that was palpable as we came out of our third lockdown. With a pop of vibrant pink and a range of green tones, the painting captures that fleeting energy of spring. The painting has a fluidity to it, the paint has moved organically during the process of painting which I found successful and really enjoyed painting this piece. ‘New Moments’ has now found a home which I hope it can bring that beautiful fleeting feel of Spring to.

“As an artist I aim to continue pushing and developing my artist practice, encouraging my paintings to evolve over time. Therefore, the paintings I am most proud of tend to be the pieces I have finished most recently. This October I painted a series of small oil paintings on paper, capturing my local landscape through the change into Autumn.

“As I was able to work on the series of paintings simultaneously, I could explore multiple colour palettes that I was seeing around me without overloading one painting. I am proud of the collection of paintings that came out of this project capturing those earthy tones and movement in the landscape. Many of these paintings have been selected and sold through the Highgate Art Gallery in London in their postcard exhibition and shipped off to join private collections across the UK. I created a film of the process of painting these smaller works on paper that can be seen on my Instagram account: @lizamackintosh

“The best thing about being an artist must be spending most of my day being creative. Seeing how the work develops on the canvas or surface I am working on. I just get lost in the process and often lose track of time, creating paintings is truly a magical process. I also love meeting new collectors and hosting exhibitions where I can share my work in person once a body of work has been completed. All the hard work that goes into its creation can finally be celebrated and that is a wonderful feeling.”

For daily insights into Liza’s studio practice you can follow her on Instagram. www.lizamackintosh.co.uk www.thecurlew.restaurant www.pureartsgroup.co.uk

If you are an ambitious and motivated artist seeking to grow your artist-based business, get in touch and book a free 30-minute discovery session.

Email: lesley@pureartsgroup.co.uk

visual arts & contemporary crafts

ARTISTS OPEN HOUSES

Brighton & Hove

Calling all artists: Take part in the Artists Open Houses 40th Anniversary festival!

This May sees the 40th Anniversary of Artists Open Houses! It was forty years ago that artist Ned Hoskins, in the Fiveways area of Brighton, had the idea to display his paintings in his house and invite the public in to view them. His simple idea was to make art accessible to all, whilst showing work in a domestic, rather than gallery setting where, after all, it spends most of its life.

Ned’s Open House was a part of the then quite small Brighton Festival. Soon other houses in the area joined Ned, forming the Fiveways trail, and not long after other trails

sprang up around the city. Later, Open Houses were moved to the newly created Fringe Festival where they got a bit lost among all the comedy and music performances; thus, in 2004, a small group of artists separated the Open Houses to create a stand-alone festival dedicated to the visual arts. Artists Open Houses was born!

Since then, Open House trails have grown up around the country and across many nations of the world – all as a result of Ned’s original initiative. This year sees not only the 40th anniversary of the start of the movement, but will also celebrate the life and legacy of Ned Hoskins, who sadly died earlier in 2021.

Don’t miss out on you chance to be part of this great celebration. Registration for May 2022 opens

4th January and closes 21st February. Anyone living in the 01273 telephone code area can take part as an Open House, while anyone, including those outside this area, can sign up to Artists Seeking Houses where Open House hosts artists can contact them to invite them to show work in their own Open House.

See www.aoh.org.uk for more info.

top: Clara Wilkinson Open House; above: Fox Flowers Forward and Friends; left: Atelier 51.

All photos by Syl Ojalla

SOUTH EAST OPEN STUDIOS

June 2022

The New Year is a good time for artists to think about how they are going to move their practice forward, what courses they might do and competitions they might enter and in which shows they are going to take part.

South East Open Studios (SEOS) is a great way to showcase artwork without having to takeon the onerous task of putting on ‘an exhibition'.

Jane Cordery, a conceptual artist based in Tenterden says: “Taking part in SEOS offers what most aspiring artists would die for: an opportunity to exhibit in your own chosen setting with interested visitors coming to you, choice over dates and times you want to be 'open', major advertising being taken care of on your behalf, other local artists supporting you by helping to promote you through word of mouth, signage provided for you, associated low costs and zero commission. Add to this the ongoing benefits of being part of a regional art community that continues to promote you throughout the year makes it a golden opportunity as far as I am concerned!”

If you are an artist or maker living in the South East and would like to take part in SEOS next June (3rd to 19th), go to our website and get signed up. Be quick, registration closes 31st January 2022. For the art lovers out there – make sure to put the dates in your diaries… our artists would love to see you!

South East Open Studios: 3rd to 19th June 2022. More info at www.seos-art.org or contact info@seos-art.org.

from top: Rowena McWilliams, A Walk in the Woods, mixed media; Harriet Ferris, Shapely Vase; Sarah de Mattos, Houseplant Heaven; Polly Hosp, Magpie Monoprints

E A R N J O I N

Not enough culture in your life? Tired of things being drab and dreary?

Then brighten up your day with the only regional arts & culture magazine in the South East. For just £9.95 a year you can have ingénu/e magazine delivered to your door each quarter.

Visit www.ingenuemagazine.co.uk or email subscribe@ingenuemagazine.co.uk

Take part in the 40th Anniversary Artists Open Houses 7th - 29th May 2022

Registration open 4th Jan - 21st Feb 2022

Registration is open to anyone living in the 01273 telephone code area.

Artists outside this area can also take part as guest artists, by signing up to ‘artists seeking houses’ at aoh.org.uk

https://aoh.org.uk/ Calling all artists

As one season is ending…

CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE

announces 60th anniversary season

‘Two Cigarettes in the Dark’ starring Penelope Keith is one of the highlights of the closing season at the Festival Theatre from 17th to 26th of February. The play is a bitter-sweet comedy about facing the end.

Stephen Wyatt’s new play reunites Dame Penelope Keith with director Alan Strachan. Bright, witty, and fiercely independent, Isabel is not ready to let go just yet. In a series of encounters with an old friend and her two sons, by turns funny, startling and poignant, home truths are exchanged, and her past begins to emerge. As Isabel confronts her own hidden regrets and family secrets, we learn what hides below the surface of this proud mother, wife,

and friend. Finally, Isabel is able to make peace with her life and say goodbye.

The 60th anniversary season begins with The Taxidermist’s Daughter, adapted for the stage by Cicestrian Kate Mosse, based on her No 1 internationally best-selling novel. A story of retribution and justice, The Taxidermist’s Daughter is a thrilling Gothic mystery set in and around historic Chichester.

Following on from 22nd April to 14th May Our Generation, a new play by Alecky Blythe, comes to the Minerva Theatre.

Created from five years of interviews with twelve young people from all four corners of the UK, Our Generation is a captivating portrait of their teenage years as they journey into adulthood.

And from 13th June to 25th June a new play by Stephen Beresford, The Southbury Child, is at the Festival Theatre. Darkly comic, the play is an exploration of family and community, the savage divisions of contemporary society and the rituals that punctuate our lives.

For a full view of the many varied performances at the theatre visit www.cft.org.uk

top: Two Cigarettes; below: Our Generation

A sample of the diverse entertainment coming up at WORTHING THEATRES

On 3rd and 4th March Conn Artists Theatre Company brings Mary Rose, a chilling ghost tale by J.M Barrie, to the Connaught Theatre.

In this hauntingly beautiful and witty play, from the creator of Peter Pan, comes an exploration of time, love and loss. These timeless themes are given a thrilling revival with a fresh treatment in the trademark style of Conn Artists.

With an ensemble cast of five actors, and featuring Barrie’s own stage directions as interwoven pieces of narrative, original music and traditional folk songs, this production creates what live, modern theatre can do best.

Mary Rose, spanning a period of over thirty years, will leave you spellbound by its mystical nature and moved by its deepest yearnings to be reunited with the ones we love, and offering a message of hope.

The cast is Evangeline Duncan as Mary Rose; Jenny Rowe as Mrs Otery / Mrs Morland; Jake Snowdon as Harry / Simon; David Stephens as Mr Morland and Ross Muir as Mr Amy / Cameron. There will also be a post-show Q&A with the company following the 7.30pm

performance on Thursday 3rd March.

Following on the next day on 5th March, Fascinating Aïda bring their hilarious and topical songs to the Assembly Hall. With a selection of old favourites, songs you haven’t heard before and some you wish you’d never heard in the first place! Dillie Keane, Adèle Anderson and Liza Pulman have mastered their craft and audiences are in for a treat of great singing, incredibly funny lyrics and the odd bit of showmanship. If you don’t laugh out loud many times during the performance, one could question whether you are actually alive!

With three Olivier Award nominations and over 25 million YouTube and Facebook hits for their uproarious performance of ‘Cheap Flights’ and their incredibly rude Christmas song – how can you possibly miss them? Visit https://wtm.uk for full details of what’s on at the theatres.

top: Evangeline Duncan as Mary Rose; left: Fascinating Aïda

performing arts

The Rise & Fall of Little Voice at the

CAPITOL THEATRE, Horsham

Mon 28th March to 2nd April

The Olivier Award-Winning comedy-drama from Jim Cartwright has earned international acclaim across the globe, including a Golden Globe winning smash-hit film starring Jane Horrocks and Michael Caine.

Scarborough, North Yorkshire 1992. Meet Little Voice and Mari Hoff. A mother and daughter central to the heart of this Northern fairy-tale, but as far apart in character as can be. Left to her own devices, Little Voice starts to embody the famous divas she plays on repeat, from Judy Garland to Shirley Bassey, and becomes an overnight sensation.

Starring TV favourite Shobna Gulati (Coronation Street, Dinnerladies, Loose Women), British soap royalty Ian Kelsey (Emmerdale, Casualty) and two-time Drama Desk Award Nominee Christina Bianco as Little Voice.

Here Christina gives some insight into her delight at playing this challenging role. “When I was young growing up in New York, I always did impressions and loved singing many genres of music. My parents tell me I had a natural instinct for mimicry, especially when it came to Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. Also, for some reason, I always gravitated toward British comedy and one of my favourite things in the world to watch was Absolutely Fabulous. I especially loved Jane Horrocks in it. Later on, my father saw a review of the film Little Voice – starring Jane – and given LV’s love for Judy and all the diva impressions, he said we had to see it. I was blown away by Jane’s performance and of course, by the story itself. I became a little obsessed with it!

“Cut to when I was doing the show Forbidden Broadway, OffBroadway, in 2008. I was doing impressions in public for the first time and gratefully being well-reviewed for doing so. It put me on the map as an impressionist and over the next few years I pushed myself to try more and more impressions and to eventually build my own show – both because I was enjoying it and because I realized there was an audience for this sort of act. It was around this time I posted some impressions videos on YouTube and they started

racking up some views.

“In the summer of 2012, I remember seeing a notice that Little Voice was going on tour in the UK and was being directed by its author Jim Cartwright. I’d never seen the show on stage before so my husband and I planned a six-day trip to London... with my ulterior motive being to take a train to Guildford to see the show! My managers at the time suggested ‘Why don’t you write to Jim, introduce yourself and tell him how much you love the show?’

“He wrote back saying ‘I’ve just watched your stuff online. You’re fabulous! Come to the stage door and we’ll chat!’ I ended up sitting down with Jim and talking about the show for quite some time. We stayed in touch and soon after, when some of my YouTube videos went viral and I had a run of sold out shows at The Hippodrome, Jim came and said ‘we have to make LV happen for you!’ That was in 2013. So as you can see, doing this show has been a very long journey! Now, to finally get to do it, on this grand scale, with this incredible cast, is just thrilling!”

Visit www.thecapitolhorsham.com for full information about what’s on.

Two disparate women featured at THE HAWTH, Crawley in March

On 1st March we can experience Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen at the Theatre and on 9th March in the Studio we can meet Queen Elizabeth 1st in Dyad Production’s I, Elizabeth. Two fascinating shows that couldn’t accentuate more the way the centuries have radically changed our life in this green and pleasant land.

An Evening with Amanda Owen is a frank, funny and informative new show, where Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen shares heart-warming tales and honest anecdotes from her remarkable farming and family life in North Yorkshire.

After working as a freelance dairy milker and alpaca shearer, she eventually settled down as a shepherdess at Ravenseat, one of the highest and most remote places in England, where she’s raised a flock of 1,000 sheep and a family of nine children with husband Clive. Accompanied by some of Amanda’s wonderful photography, we’ll hear how Amanda juggles life as a shepherdess, home renovator and mother to nine children, and her life as a best-selling author and being taken to the nation’s hearts with the Channel 5 hit series ‘Our Yorkshire Farm’.

9th March at the Studio brings I, Elizabeth. It is 1568, a vital but volatile crossroads in history, a young queen steps from the shadows to reveal her thoughts on marriage, succession, religion and war. But time is against her. Elizabeth I: Queen at 25, political phoenix and famously unmarried – but who was the woman beneath the crown?

Using only Elizabeth's words, Rebecca Vaughan explores the queen's struggle to reconcile the desires

of womanhood with the duties of sovereignty. From the award-winning creators of Austen's Women, Dalloway, Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, Orlando, The Unremarkable Death of Marilyn, Female Gothic, The Time Machine, and Christmas Gothic.

A rescheduled show, all tickets for the original show are valid for new date.

Visit /www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/The-Hawth.

performing arts

Multi-award-winning phenomenon STOMP is coming home to Brighton! 16th February to 1st May at THE OLD MARKET

In early 2022 the international phenomenon that is Stomp is coming home to the city where it all began – all in the name of raising funds for a much-loved Brighton venue.

The Old Market (TOM) will become the intimate home of STOMP from February to May 2022. The show is presented as part of a fundraising drive for the venue, and the run will also see members of the company provide workshop opportunities for schools, young people and community groups.

Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, Stomp sees the troupe take everyday objects and turn them into a percussive juggernaut of a performance. The run is taking place as part of TOM’s Gig for a Gig scheme, which sees established artists donate performances to the venue and the profits go towards providing opportunities for the next generation of artists to perform at TOM.

With these performances, the show will also celebrate its 30th anniversary, and TOM will celebrate its belated 10th anniversary. Co-creators of STOMP, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, said: “This is all about giving back. We love this city, and we love The Old Market as it holds such a special place in our hearts. We want to do what we can to provide an injection of cultural energy into Brighton and Hove, and we also want to continue to provide opportunities for new

artists to perform at The Old Market by raising the funds needed to ensure that TOM can carry on for many, many years to come.” Helen Jewell, Programmer of The Old Market, said: “We are so grateful to have this fantastic opportunity to present a show of such a global scale in our intimate venue. Our ethos here at TOM is ‘artists supporting artists’, and nobody embodies that philosophy more than Steve and Luke. We can’t wait to welcome audiences from far and wide to see the amazing show STOMP live!”

Visit www.theoldmarket. com for further details.

An Hour and a Half Late 7th March to 12th March at

DEVONSHIRE PARK THEATRE, Eastbourne

Olivier Award winners Griff Rhys Jones and Janie Dee star in this devastatingly funny portrait of a couple whose five minutes of candid conversation launches an outpouring of emotions, home truths, wine, nibbles and anarchy.

All looks rosy in leafy London W4. Peter is about to retire and sell his half of the accountancy business to his partner. They’ll be loaded. Laura has just packed their youngest off to university and the world is their oyster. Will they go on a cruise? Hike in the Himalayas? Take up golf? All that remains is for the documents to be signed. They’re off for a celebratory dinner when Laura drops a bombshell… Visit www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk for more info.

Three contrasting performances early 2021 at ROPETACKLE ARTS CENTRE in Shoreham-by-Sea

On 20th February Next Door Dance, with Arts Council England, bring The Beautiful Game to Shoreham. Football. Some love it, others loathe it, but we can’t deny that it is somehow present in all of our lives. The Beautiful Game is a laugh-out-loud look at Britain’s undying obsession with football, celebrating everything from weird match day rituals to ridiculous armchair punditry. Passionately performed by four females, The Beautiful Game will lead you through the highs and lows of being a British football fan. Packed with unforgettable goals, set to a backdrop of chant-along hits and full to the brim

with nostalgia, it may even attempt to explain the offside rule!

On 17th March My Darling Clementine continue their tour in support of their most recent, critically acclaimed release: Country Darkness – The Songs of Elvis Costello. The album is a collaboration between Michael and Lou, and Costello’s long-time right-hand man, the brilliant Steve Nieve. The live show will feature a number of the Costello songs as well as many favourites from the duo’s nine year back catalogue.

On 24th March Peggy Seeger makes a very welcome return to Ropetackle on her ‘First Farewell Tour’. The charismatic singer, songwriter, feminist, icon and Ewan MacColl’s partner and muse, is the undisputed queen of folk and political song.

Peggy is joined by her son Calum MacColl for a glorious evening of up-close performance. Expect to hear

some of Peggy and Ewan MacColl’s most loved songs, readings from Peggy’s awardwinning memoir ‘The First Time Ever’, plenty of audience participation and lots of relaxed family banter.

Visit www.ropetacklecentre.co.uk for full information about what’s on.

top: Next Door Dance above: My Darling Clementine left: Peggy Seeger

Ethereal, delightful and fun! the mediæval bæbes

at St Mary’s Church, Horsham

Well, this was a real treat. The Bæbes were in excellent form, with a very varied, aesthetic set. Sometimes angelic, sometimes solemn, sometimes humorous and sometimes simply having fun, they gave us a unique concert experience… the closest I’ve come to the Muses from ancient Greek mythology for a very long time!

Against the backdrop of a magnificent stained glass window and flanked by festive finery the atmosphere for the Bæbes' performance was set.

Celebrating their 25th Anniversary year and accompanied by an array of period instruments, they brought us carols, traditional folksongs, choral renditions of ancient and romantic poetry and some Christmas favourites. The harmonies of the band were so beautiful it is difficult to describe the effect in mere words and the musical accompaniment, whether played by the Bæbes themselves or by the incredibly talented musicians aiding them, was outstanding. Their anecdotes, occasionally interspersed between

songs, were either hilarious or extremely interesting, sometimes both! For example, founder member Katharine Blake told the story of a group of friends breaking into a graveyard after midnight 25 years ago to sing mediæval songs and make merry, which was the genesis of the band. Over a quarter of a century later, the Mediæval Bæbes have released ten studio albums, won an Ivor Novello Award, two Emmy nominations and a Royal Television Society award alongside composer Martin Phipps.

A fantastic and uplifting evening and the band were only too happy to meet audience members after the show, signing memorabilia and chatting away with a delightful lack of pretentiousness.

Visit www.mediaevalbaebes.com for more info.

–Roger & Gill

Worthing Theatres' Beauty and the Beast

ingénu/e magazine sent special correspondents along to the Pavillion Theatre, Worthing in December to see their annual pantomime. This year's production was Beauty and the Beast which, by all accounts, was a humdinger!

Panto time!

That delicious feeling of setting off into the dark and chilly evening and heading, like moths to a bright flame, towards the lights and music and glitter of the Pantomime!

Having seen the enticing posters for weeks, having been busy preparing for the festive celebrations, it is now time to relax and to revel in the familiar fun and new retelling of the wonders of fairytale.

Beauty and the Beast, such a favourite! We arrive to the bustle and warmth of the theatre, everyone feeling the air of excitement as they find their way to their seats.

Music, chatter, popcorn, Christmas hats and jumpers, warming up, settling in, then... "Welcome!" The lights go down and the magic begins...

What a treat of characters, costumes, dancing and laughter came tumbling off the stage!

One of the best Dames we've seen had us all up in our seats shouting 'behind you!!'

A troupe of young dancers filled the stage with sparkle and colour and elegance and grace.

Moments of hilarity and fun were seamlessly mixed with moments of drama and more serious storytelling – the dramatic moment the Count becomes the Beast; the lovely old Professor (brilliantly performed) discovering the Beast's great castle; the tender moment Beauty and the Beast sing their new love for each other.

And then the fun and chaos provided by the Castle's magical inhabitants, the dastardly actions of Gaston (and his funky dancing of course!) and all the chances for audience participation made the whole thing a joy and delight to remember.

It ticked all the boxes for everything you hope to see in a panto, congratulations to all involved for bringing it to us in what has been a challenging year for us all.

And added congratulations and thanks to all the Worthing Pavillion Theatre staff who were, as always, so helpful and added a sense of festive calm to the whole proceedings!

We're looking forward to next year!

–Emily, Jonny, Siri & Alia

St Petersburg Classic BalletGiselle & Swan Lake

Burn the Floor with Kevin Clifton

Giovanni Pernice

Anton & Giovanni

Kerry Godliman

Ross Noble

Rhod Gilbert

Stewart Lee

Henning Wehn

Sandi Toksvig

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Rolling Stones Story

Chicago Rock of Ages

School of Rock

Ansell’s

Les Musicals

I’m Still Standing

Great Theatre at Ropetackle!

above: a busy evening at The Picture House Cinema, Uckfield

right: The Picture House Restaurant

THE PICTURE HOUSE cinema & restaurant

The Picture House Uckfield are very excited to announce our new Exhibition on Screen season.

Starting with 'Raphael Revealed', marking the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death, the greatest exhibition of his work was held in Rome and Exhibition on Screen was granted exclusive access.

'The Danish Collector', the story of visionary collector, Wilhelm Hansen, who amassed a remarkable collection of impressionist works, filmed with exclusive access to London’s Royal Academy.

To mark International Women’s Day, 'Frida Kahlo – The Artist, The Icon', is a journey through the life of a true icon.

'Easter in Art' features some of the western civilization’s greatest artworks to focus on the story of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Enjoy an evening of fabulous art and make sure you book The Picture House Restaurant for a great night out. Visit www.picturehouseuckfield.com.

Senbla presents Opera International’s award-winning Ellen Kent Productions with international soloists, highly praised chorus and full orchestra

WINNER ‘BEST OPERA AWARD’

Welcoming back the fabulous Korean soprano Elena Dee and celebrated international sopranos Alyona Kistenyova, Maria Davydova and Ecaterina Timbaliuk† .

“A Butterfly to Cherish”

MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS

With an exquisite Japanese Garden and spectacular costumes including antique wedding kimonos from Japan. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

“Hot-blooded, a joy”

THE INDEPENDENT

Starring international Russian mezzo soprano Maria Davydova and Romanian mezzo soprano Ecaterina Timbaliuk†.

Evoking the stunning architecture of Seville and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences. Sung in French with English surtitles. † Cast subject to change.

Opera International's award-winning ELLEN KENT PRODUCTIONS

Madama Butterfly and Carmen

The magic of Madama Butterfly and Carmen will delight us in the early part of 2022, with a number of stunning performances in our area.

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly welcomes back the fabulous Korean soprano Elena Dee and the celebrated international soprano Alyona Kistenyova. Back by overwhelming public demand, this awardwinning Opera returns in a new production with exquisite sets including a spectacular Japanese garden and fabulous costumes including antique wedding kimonos from Japan.

One of the world’s most popular operas, Madama Butterfly tells the heart-breaking story of the beautiful young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval lieutenant – with dramatic results. Highlights include the melodic ‘Humming Chorus’,

the moving aria ‘One Fine Day’ and the unforgettable ‘Love Duet’. The performances are all sung in Italian with English surtitles and there is a remote possibility of cast changes.

Bizet’s Carmen is an evening of passion, sexual jealousy, death and unforgettable arias.

This dazzling production with orchestra features Bizet’s unforgettable melodies including ‘The Toreador’s Song’, Carmen’s enticing ‘Habanera’, and Don José’s lyrical ‘Flower Song’ in a setting evoking the stunning architecture of Seville and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences. Sung in French with English surtitles.

See the advertisement on the left for venues and dates in our area, and visit the theatres’ websites or www.senbla.com/events for full information.

performing arts

08/01 Christ Church

String Quartet Concert

13/01 White Rock

Bossa Nova Evening

28/01 White Rock

HPO Rachmaninoff

www.hastingsphilharmonic.com

www.hastingsphilorchestra.co.uk. www.hastingsphilorchestra.co.uk

MELTING VINYL LIVE 2022 WITH MV

Jetstream Pony / Hadda Be

Lewes Psychedelic Festival

Vetiver / Josh Rouse

Chrystabell

Manu Delago

Group Listening

Lucy Feliz

The Weather Station

Ulrich Schnauss

Pictish Trail

Joan as Policewoman

Midlake

Danny George Wilson

LOW Laura Veirs

The Handsome Family

...then pep up your day with the only regional arts & culture magazine in the South East. For just £9.95 a year you can have ingénu/e magazine delivered to your door each quarter.

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Visit www.ingenuemagazine.co.uk or email subscribe@ingenuemagazine.co.uk Not enough music in your life?

HASTINGS PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Christopher Cormack on Hastings’ classical music history – how Wagner and Rachmaninov became interwoven into the classical music DNA of Hastings’ cultural life.

Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) presents a ‘heritage’ concert on 28th January which highlights works by Wagner and Rachmaninov and puts them in the context of Hastings’ history of excellent classical music events. HPO, by becoming ‘orchestra in residence’ at the White Rock Theatre, is proud to emulate the achievements of the Hastings Municipal Orchestra (HMO) in the 1920s and 30s in the same ‘Pavilion’ which was purpose-built for classical music.

HMO music director Julius Harrison facilitated two performances by Rachmaninov at White Rock in the 1930s and also ensured the acoustics of the ‘Pavilion’ were fully demonstrated in numerous BBC live broadcasts and Decca recordings. The HPO January concert features ‘Rach 3’ piano concerto and a 1930s Harrison composition ‘Autumn Landscape’.

Soon after the onset of World War II, Harrison set alight the English press

TONBRIDGE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY, THE CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA

A new Director of Music; and introducing a wealth of performances in early 2022.

A joyful and happy reunion took place in 2021. Performers, choir and orchestra, and audience alike joined in the spirit of the psalmist and composer, Hubert Parry. All united to celebrate being together after many months of isolating lockdown, and to crown the event, Naomi Butcher, the Society’s new Director of Music, was welcomed. Her energy and enthusiasm immediately invigorated the performance. Robin Morrish, President of Tonbridge Philharmonic Society said “There was a keen air of expectation in the regal surroundings of the Chapel of St Augustine at Tonbridge School… with passionate performances from choir, orchestra and conductor alike, Naomi Butcher has brought a breath of fresh air to the Tonbridge Philharmonic Society.”

Here are the performances in early 2022: On 19th February – Germaine Tailleferre: Overture | Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet Suite

by the suggestion that we desist from Wagner concerts for the duration – eliciting a public response from Hitler himself! Ironic considering that in the Great War, Hastings revelled in a ground breaking production of Wagner’s Tannhäuser presented by HMO’s first music director, Julian Clifford synchronised to the eponymous 1913 silent movie.

What is more, the founder of the London Wagner Society, Edward Dannreuther, subsequently became a longstanding Hastings resident. Local composer Keith Beal, whose 10th Symphony is premiered on the 28th, befriended Dannreuther’s son (Wagner’s godson) and interviewed him in 1969 on his father’s illustrious career as an international concert pianist.

For more info visit www. hastingsphilharmonic.com

No. 2 | Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Soloist: Jong-Gyung Park) at the Chapel of St Augustine, Tonbridge School.

On 26th March – Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music | Durufle: Requiem at the Chapel of St Augustine, Tonbridge School.

And on 21st May – Nielsen: Helios Overture Op. 17 | Nina Rota: Double Bass Concerto (soloist: Toby Hughes) | Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 at the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.

More information at https://tonphil.org.uk

Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony

Sunday 16 January | Congress Theatre

Stormclouds and Spring Flowers

Andreas Ottensamer plays Copland’s Clarinet Concerto

Saturday 29 January | Brighton Dome

Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays Shostakovich

Sunday 20 February | Congress Theatre

Daydreams and Fantasies

Romantic classics by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky

Saturday 12 March | Brighton Dome

Sunday 13 March | Congress Theatre

Magical Tales

Jess Gillam plays Glazunov’s Concerto for Saxophone

Saturday 23 April | Brighton Dome

Spirit of the City

Daniel Pioro plays Bruch’s First Violin Concerto

Sunday 24 April | Congress Theatre

21 years with the LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

ingénu/e interviews LPO’s Anne McAneney

Anne was a member of London Brass for 23 years. She joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Sub-Principal Trumpet in 2000 and is a Professor of Trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

Tell us about your early life, how did you first become interested in music?

I was born and brought up in Belfast, where at the age of eight I began to have piano lessons. Shortly after this I started to learn the violin. In my teens I exchanged the violin for a cornet and ultimately the instrument I still play, the trumpet.

What attracted you to orchestral music?

I played cornet in a brass band and when the Ulster Orchestra needed extra brass players for the stage bands in a performance of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, they asked us to play the extra parts. What a piece. I was completely sold on the incredible sound colours an orchestra could make. This was when the trumpet replaced the cornet and the orchestra replaced the brass band in my heart.

How did you fare during the lockdowns?

Lockdown was a bag of mixed blessings. The life of a London orchestra is exceptionally busy, so I normally have little time to enjoy my lovely home in Crowborough. Lockdown imposed a rest period and gave me the opportunity to spend quality time in my kitchen and garden but music is my life and I felt totally cut off. Zoom soon presented itself as a useful means of showing the orchestra playing together through layering all our individual recordings. When restrictions were lifted we managed to come together in small groups and record concerts for streaming, which was life-affirming after the isolation. The final stage of coming out of lockdown saw us performing our concerts in an empty concert hall, which were filmed for streaming on Marquee TV. It was very odd to play a concert without applause at the end. Oh how we missed our audience.

Outside of classical music, what other types of music do you enjoy?

I enjoy most types of music but am particularly drawn to Gypsy Kings, early musicals and pop music from the 70’s and 80’s.

You have been with the LPO now for 21 years. Can you tell us of a few highlights from your career with the LPO?

There are so many highlights but to select a few, 'All Rise' touring the UK with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Jazz Orchestra, performing Peter Grimes with Stuart Skelton in the title role and recording the music for the Lord of the Rings films come top of the list.

And do you have any particular fond memories of the residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne?

The LPO have given many concerts both in Brighton and Eastbourne and it always a pleasure to meet members of the audience.

Two performances which I recall with great fondness were both at the Congress Theatre. Prior to the refurbishment we played Debussy’s La Mer and because of the leakage of sound from the loading dock at the side of the stage, we gave a very special performance made complete by rather loud seagull calls, just as Debussy would have enjoyed from his hotel room in the Grand Hotel, in the summer of 1905, whilst correcting the proofs of the music he had completed a few months earlier.

Another concert that will long remain in my memory is that of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, when the lighting failed and we played on in total darkness, until one by one we could no longer remember our parts! You have to be prepared for anything when performing live music and I am looking forward to making more happy memories in our Sussex residences.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has residencies in 2022 at The Congress, Eastbourne and Brighton Dome. See www.lpo.org.uk for details of upcoming concerts.

performing arts

Chrystabell and The Weather Station

two of the many great gigs brought to the area by MELTING

VINYL early 2022

There are two similar (but different) performers arriving in Brighton early 2022. Both are singer/songwriters while also concurrently having another life as an actress. Needless to say therefore, they bring more than a few songs with them. They also bring their unique musical style, captivating vocals and stand out visual performances.

Chrystabell at Komedia, Brighton on 9th February. American singer, songwriter, model, and actress Chrystabell, who besides owning an ethereal voice and

creating spellbinding songs, is also known for her musical collaborations with film maker David Lynch, appearing in his ‘Twin Peaks: The Return’ in 2017. Her fifth studio album, Midnight Star, has guitars and drums replaced by synths, marking a fascinating shift in her creative vision.

Expect a Kate Bush-ish voice and a performance that is a touch unearthly, along with some special guests.

The Weather Station, also at Komedia, on 15th March. The Weather Station is the musical project of Canadian singer/songwriter and actress Tamara Lindeman.

The band's 2021 album ‘Ignorance’ has ten tracks recorded with two percussionists, a saxophonist and a flautist, plus bass, keys, and guitar. Tamara wrote and produced all the songs, the album's theme being based on her contemplation of the global climate crisis. She has said “It’s about this process of moving through denial into understanding”.

Tamara’s music has evolved over the last thirteen years. Starting out as an introspective Folky, she has since added rock and jazz influences, giving her songs more depth and scope and becoming impossible to pigeonhole.

Supporting Tamara’s band is Ami Dang, a South Asian-American, Sikh composer, music producer, vocalist and sitarist from Baltimore.

Visit www.meltingvinyl.co.uk for info on these and other gigs coming up.

top: Chrystabell left: Tamara Lindeman, The Weather Station

Fairport Convention

bring their 2022 tour to Bexhill 16th February at the De La Warr Pavilion

2022 brings the 55th anniversary of arguably the band that was (forgive the pun) instrumental in bringing folk music into the 20th Century, creating a new musical genre, Folk-Rock.

Since those heady days of the late sixties and early seventies, the band has seen many changes, but one thing has remained the same – their passion for performance.

2022’s Winter Tour will present a mix of longestablished Fairport favourites and some surprises from albums old and new including their latest album, Shuffle & Go, which was released just before lockdown in 2020. Fairport Convention have won a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award and Radio 2 listeners voted their ground-breaking album Liege & Lief 'The Most Influential Folk Album of All Time'. Their story has been celebrated with television documentaries on BBC Four and Sky Arts.

The band features founding member Simon Nicol on guitar and vocals along with Dave Pegg on bass guitar, Ric Sanders on violin, Chris Leslie on fiddle, mandolin and vocals, and Gerry Conway on drums and percussion. The band is also notable for a vast array of former

members who formed other groups such as Fotheringay, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band, or went onto successful solo careers, such as Richard Thompson and the (sadly lost) Sandy Denny.

The show has Luke Jackson as support. Luke is an enigmatic and powerful singer-songwriter from Kent drawing on his experiences, family life and poignant stories. His latest album 'Journals' is a brand new studio recording of eleven self- penned tracks.

Visit www.coastalevents.co.uk or www.dlwp.com for further information.

looking ahead to festivals

In 2022 there are many fabulous festivals coming up in our region (and one in Cornwall if you fancy a weekend away). Let’s get out there and support these events and have a grand old time doing so! Let’s help revitalize the arts in all the ways we can. Let’s show these artists and performers have much we have missed them!

Deal Music & Arts Festival 2022 1st to 16th July

Deal

Music & Arts celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2022. The festival welcomes a host of great artists and ensembles, often reflecting on Deal’s unique landscape and place in the nation’s history – it was here that Julius Caesar first landed, that Henry VIII built three of his great castles, and where the Goodwin Sands have created a natural place of peril and a port of safety.

Artists include 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition winner Alim Beisembayev, star saxophonist Jess Gillam with the London Mozart Players, Academy of Ancient Music & Guildhall performing Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, Dame Evelyn Glennie with Trio HLK, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra performing new recreations of music by Ravel and Tchaikovsky, Shakespeare’s Othello in the grounds of Walmer Castle, the eerie 1920’s film The Cabinet

of Dr Caligari with live music specially created by Minima, a new opera based on Frida Kahlo’s own diary and the ever-uproarious Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.

There are also many events for all ages, such as free music around Deal, walks and talks, a day to explore the music of the Balinese Gamelan, the chance to hear the complete piano sonatas of Prokofiev performed in chronological order and so much more.

Visit https://dealmusicandarts.com for full details.

above: Jess Gillam; below Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, photo Allison Burke;

looking ahead to festivals

Shipley Arts Festival 2022 events throughout the year

TheShipley Arts Festival’s true spirit is to embrace and join communities through music.

For over twenty years the Festival has inspired, connected and brought together the local Horsham communities, surrounding villages, business, youth music and respected gifted musicians through musical innovation.

The exciting collaboration of concerts for the 2022 festival programme will launch on Sunday 30th January at Sedgwick Park, Horsham.

This nationally renowned festival is performed in some of the county’s most delightful venues, ranging

from beautiful small village churches through to larger estate residences. And, running throughout the year; music lovers can enjoy a unique programme of classical music excellence and innovative performances from the Bernardi Music Group, their Stradivarius Trio, the String Academy youth orchestra, and solo performances from internationally renowned violinist Andrew Bernardi.

The Festival’s imaginative melding of arts, Sussex heritage and music, unites and connects music professionals, composers, and talented young musicians from across the county and around the world. In addition, the Shipley Arts Festival is widely recognised for its commissioning of new music, to showcase and further enhance its exciting and eclectic programme of events.

Regular updates, priority booking and exclusive opportunities can be secured through membership to the ‘Friends of Shipley Arts Festival’.

For more information on the upcoming 2022 programme and for details of membership packages visit www.bernardimusicgroup.com.

The Shipley Arts Festival is delighted to be working closely with their sponsors Tooveys, Nyetimber, Kreston Reeves, Wakefields, NFU Mutual and YuYaun Arts.

below: Bernardi Music Group outside Nuthurst Church before a performance for Shipley Arts Festival 2021

looking ahead to festivals

Lewes Chamber Music Festival

Tenth birthday Festival 9th to 11th

June 2022

The first Lewes Chamber Music Festival happened in June 2012 when locally born violinist Beatrice Philips invited eight of her friends to perform a series of concerts in her hometown. Now ten years later it is one of the UK’s most respected music festivals hosting up to twenty world-class performers from around the world each year.

Beatrice says: “I had just finished studying violin at conservatoires abroad and had returned to the UK knowing that my favourite thing to do was play chamber music. I had been lucky enough to meet some incredible musicians during my studies and performed at several chamber music festivals throughout Europe and the UK. I wanted to bring concerts to audiences in my home town and create something high quality and intimate which could benefit the community and give performance opportunities to young musicians.

“It seems to me that chamber music – particularly string quartets – is where composers over the past 200 years have written some of their most heart-felt and adventurous creations; perhaps feeling a freedom with a small ensemble to let their imaginations run wild.

“Curating programmes for the subsequent annual Festivals in Lewes has been a real creative outlet for me. As my own career as a violinist has developed over the past ten years I have been able to incorporate new music I have discovered and also invite wonderful musicians I have met along the way. It’s a wonderful anchor to have the Festival and to be able to provide something that’s hopefully enjoyable and inspiring for everyone involved.

“Please join us in June to celebrate our tenth birthday Festival!”

Visit www.leweschambermusicfestival.com for all the information.

below:

looking ahead to festivals

Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival

June 23rd to 26th 2022

After a hugely exciting return to live music last summer, everyone involved with the Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival is looking forward to welcoming our audience to our 2022 festival, whether you are new to the Festival or returning after many visits.

In these dark winter days, what better tonic can there be than to look ahead to brighter times of music-making. With nine concerts scheduled across 4 days, and wonderful classical music spanning many centuries of creativity, we hope you will be able to join us.

As always, the Peasmarsh Festival will include a superlative roster of world class artists. Joining violinist Anthony Marwood and cellist Richard Lester will be accordion player James Crabb, who is making a welcome return to the Festival; the wonderful violinist Magnus Johnston and the celebrated Heath Quartet also make eagerly anticipated returns.

Award-winning Dutch pianist Hannes Minaar joins us for the first time. On Friday evening, our guests will be the brilliant young 12Ensemble who will take to the stage in St Mary’s Rye joining Artistic Directors Anthony Marwood MBE and Richard Lester for

our annual orchestral concerto concert. We are also delighted to be planning concerts in the Norman church in Peasmarsh, and stunning St Thomas’ Winchelsea, with its famous stained glass windows and scintillating acoustics. We will also be offering music workshops in five local schools, building on over 15 years of educational partnerships in this special corner of East Sussex.

The full festival programme will be announced in spring.

For further information please visit www.peasmarshfestival.co.uk

looking ahead to festivals

Petworth Festival 2022

13th to 30th July

After the last two years what will 2022 bring? Such a big question but our Friends at the Petworth Festival are clearly determined to bring back a whole lot of joy into our lives with a superb and varied fortnight of live events in July.

Although the programme won’t be revealed in full until April, we are already promised a series of highlights the equal of anything the festival has offered over the last few, memorable years: the finest in the nation’s classical musicians – including cellist Natalie Clein, pianist Steven Osborne and guitarist Sean Shibe; brilliant jazz and world music, not least Paul Young’s fizzing Tex-Mex outfit, Los Pacaminos; boogie maestro extraordinaire Ben Waters and comedy with the everso-slightly crazy but always hilarious Milton Jones.

Talking to ingénue, Petworth’s festival director Stewart Collins is candid: “I can’t pretend that the Petworth team have always enjoyed the last two years, but we’ve remained determined to pick up on the amazing momentum we’ve been gathering prior to the pandemic –so yes, we’re back, we’ve designed a full and immensely varied programme, and

we can’t recommend the experience of high quality, LIVE performance enough. It’s really been the missing link for so many of us this last couple of years.”

Visit www.petworthfestival.org.uk for more information.

Cornwall Folk Festival 2022 26th to 29th August – Enjoy a musical bank holiday getaway

WhateverGreek letters they throw at us, Cornwall Folk Festival will be back in full in 2022. This compact, town centre festival brings daytime music to the streets of the bijou North Cornwall town of Wadebridge with artists from across Cornwall and the southwest, and in the evening heads to indoor venues and pubs.

Headliners at the main stage in the Town Hall are Dougie Maclean, Merry Hell, O’Hooley and Tidow,

Granny’s Attic and Winter Wilson, plus three great Cornish bands Du Glas, Brother Sea and Handpicked, with loads of new material and old favourites. It runs from Friday evening to Monday over the August Bank Holiday. Why not combine this with a late summer stay in North Cornwall in the week following the festival, when many visitors have left but the weather and sea remains warm and welcoming! For full details: www. cornwallfolkfestival.com

looking ahead to festivals

Tenterden Folk Festival

Alan Castle, Tenterden Folk Festival Director reflects on the 2021 Festival and looks towards the 2022 Festival.

“2021 was a very strange and exceedingly difficult year for all folk festivals and everyone involved in the folk scene. In mid-September we were looking forward to what we hoped would be a near normal festival and making the final preparations. What happened next could have been a disaster but thanks to the dedication of our guest artists, Morris sides, stallholders, volunteers and our supporters, the festival went ahead and was a success.

“The sudden fuel problems mainly affected London and the South East but our guest artists from as far afield as Newcastle, Liverpool, The Peak District and even Ireland, braved setting out and driving up to 500 miles not knowing if they would get fuel to complete their journeys to Tenterden or if they would get back home afterwards. Their attitudes were always the 'show must go on'.

“The festival got off to a great start with a well attended Thursday evening concert and numbers built further on Friday. Even the barn dance was reasonably well attended and that had been the event I had

been most worried about, with the possibility of people not wanting to come in close contact with strangers. Then came Saturday, a day I will never forget, torrential rain and winds. It was too bad for most Morris sides to dance outdoors and by late morning we took the decision to cancel the procession. This was only the second time in 28 years that we had cancelled the procession. Morris sides danced where they could. All the indoor events on Saturday and Sunday went very well and there was dancing outside on Sunday.

“Will we do it again? Of course we will, but we will make a few changes based on what we learnt this year.”

Visit www.tenterdenfolkfestival.com for festival news and information.

Broadstairs Folk Week

5th to 12th August

Folk Music by the Sea

Broadstairs Folk Week rolls into town every August with hundreds of musicians performing in every available venue in the town.

looking ahead to festivals

There are around 400 events crammed into one week – including concerts featuring top folk musicians; ceilidhs and dances for all ages; workshops for all abilities in music, song, and dance – learn Appalachian clog dancing – or join in with a ukulele orchestra; brush up your melodeon skills or bring along a bodhran drum to join in a session.

There are singarounds, poetry shares and sea shanties on the Jetty. Morris sides dance around town and down the High Street in the annual festival parade.

The Festival Arena in the park plays host to the concert headliners, including Lindisfarne, Show of Hands, the Spooky Men’s Chorale, Spiers & Boden, Sharon Shannon, the Longest Johns, the Magpie Arc and Tim Edey.

The festival campsite is within walking distance of the town and venues – and it’s a great way of having a holiday by the beach with all the entertainment thrown in!

Go to www.broadstairsfolkweek.org.uk where more details can be found.

looking ahead to festivals

Southdowns Music festival

22nd to 25th September

Originally called the Southdowns Folk Festival, this fantastic late summer festival in Bognor Regis has broadened its horizons and changed its name to the Southdowns Music Festival and now has a new venue for the main acts at the Picturedrome Cinema, which has a capacity of over 600.

Roger Nash, Chairman of the festival said: “A huge thanks to everyone who visited Bognor Regis town centre and helped to make the 2021 Southdowns Festival such a success. The many thousands who enjoyed the festival saw an array of great music from many different folk and roots genres and we intend to build on this for the 2022 festival.”

Already confirmed as headliners for the 2022 festival are Lindisfarne, The Leylines, Spiers and Boden and The Men They Couldn’t Hang.

As usual there will be many more events during the festival and more details will emerge soon, but Early Bird tickets are now available if booked before 1st March. Visit www.southdownsfolkfest.co.uk for further news and information.

pictured right: Hannah Johns of The Leylines

New Generation Jazz Festival 4th

to 6th February

Ropetackle Arts Centre

Athree-day

festival of concerts and workshops by the UK’s most exciting up and coming UK Jazz artists, presented by New Generation Jazz.

With the new generation of young jazz artists scooping up Mercury nominations, nationwide radio play, and major festival appearances, new jazz in the UK has never been in a more exciting place than it is in 2022. New Generation Jazz and Ropetackle have teamed up to create a festival featuring three days of concerts from the scene’s most exciting emerging artists and a feast of workshops and interactive events.

The festival kicks off with Kansas Smitty’s House Band and Xhosa on 4th February. Kansas Smitty’s House Band are led by American-Italian alto-saxophonist/clarinettist Giacomo Smith while Xhosa has a deep and authentic connection to the lineage of Jazz music.

The following day sees Chelsea Carmichael and Daisy George perform. Chelsea is an understated innovator and educator and Daisy has been active in the London jazz scene for many years.

Alex Hitchcock’s Dream Band and Binker Golding Quintet bring the festival to a close on Sunday 6th February. London-born saxophonist Alex Hitchcock is regarded as one of the UK’s most virtuosic young jazz musicians while Binker is an award-winning jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader.

Visit https://ropetacklecentre.co.uk for more info.

ALDEN & ALEX PATTERSON | MISHRA JON DORAN & THE NORTHERN ASSEMBLY

KAKATSITSI DRUMMERS AND DANCERS | L’IL JIM | BEN PALEY PLUS MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!

L F S V L

Wadebridge, North Cornwall Fri 26th-Mon 29th Aug

Dougie MACLEAN O’Hooley & Tidow

MERRY HELL GRANNY’S ATTIC Winter Wilson Brother Sea Du Glas Handpicked + more

Tenterden

folk festival 2022

Tenterden, the Jewel of the Weald Thursday 29th September to Sunday 2nd October 2022

Free events include crafts marquee, street stalls, free music stage, dance stage, Morris dancers, dance displays, procession, street entertainers, song and music sessions, etc.

Ticketed events include concerts, barn dance, special shows, workshops, meet the guests, folk clubs, etc.

Guests To be announced in spring 2022

See website for details

www.peasmarshfestival.co.uk

poetry prose & illustration

Lyndsey Smith artist & illustrator

Artist Lyndsey Smith is regularly commissioned for family and house portraits and for greetings card illustrations.

Drawn in detail with fine pen and painted with bright watercolours, these illustrations include the life and often the history within and surrounding the subject. Her clients include Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral, The RAF, Taylors Port, Leeds Castle and Lewes Cathedral – Harvey’s Brewery.

As a member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art, drawing forms the basis of Lyndsey’s art, she loves to experiment with other media, but watercolour painting is where she is happiest adding colour, laying the clear washes and watch them mix on paper.

Living within the South Downs National Park near Lewes, she regularly walks and sketches the Sussex land and seascape, and is especially drawn to the Seven Sisters and Cuckmere Haven (see her painting at the bottom of page 79). She keeps a pocket sketching kit with her and will stop and sketch, often in a continuous line, and add colour with watercolour from a mini tin.

Lyndsey also has a fascination with local history, archaeology and the progression of time on the landscape and buildings, imagining the stories that walls could tell.

For 2022 Lyndsey will be taking part in exhibitions

at “Stories of the Sea” Seaford Head, The Society of Graphic Fine Art exhibitions at Watts Gallery Artist Village, Mall Galleries and Bermondsey Project Space, as well as continually showing originals and prints at Chalk Gallery in Lewes. Follow her Instagram @lyndseysmithart or visit www.lyndseysmith.co.uk.

The Lights of Leicester Square

It was sheer chance that just before Christmas I was invited to a Writers' Guild press showing of the superb new film Cyrano at the Odeon Leicester Square. Standing outside looking up at the lights, there I was looking at my past!

I was the very first woman in Front of House Management for the Rank Organisation – nine amazing years, 1967 to 1976, in Leicester Square at the twinned Odeon and the Leicester Square Theatres. What a joy it has been to write about! The son of the PIC photographer Harry Myers has allowed me to use over 150 fabulous photos showing those wonderful West End years, and the launch of The Lights of Leicester Square will coincide with the anniversary of Queen's accession to the throne. Huge crowds. Movie stars. The rich and famous. The red carpet. Leicester Square lit up with excitement. World Premieres, British Premieres, the annual Royal Film Performance in the presence of the Queen or the Queen Mother and other Royals, solo runs of the best new films, press shows, charities benefiting by thousands of pounds! With grand historical moments and record-breaking runs, it was big business, very big business!

There were special moments: a young Prince Charles being nervous and slow along the guest line-up, Princess Anne representing her mother when the Queen had chickenpox, Princess Margaret slipping privately in a side exit to see a matinee, escorting the Prime Minister and several Cabinet members across the Square when the premiere of Young Winston was shown in both cinemas.

Daisy Coulham, creator of Granchester and Deadwater Fell says it's "A tantalising peek behind the velvet curtain at one of London's best loved cinemas. The swinging 60s, the hedonistic 70s, Hollywood glamour – and never before heard stories about the famous – what's not to love!"

Dominic Minghella calls the book "a rare inside account, the magic and lights of the auditorium, the electricity of red-carpet premieres of a golden decade of film presentation in the cathedrals of film, the Odeon cinemas in Leicester Square." In those years so many superb films were being produced. Everyone wanted to see them and cinema was in its golden years. In his foreword Michael Grade says: "What is more glamorous than a movie premiere? ...if you love the movies, you will relish this book over and over again."

So many people have personal memories of those London days, and I was there… in the lights of Leicester Square.

above: Felicity Fair Thompson lends a guiding hand as a bouquet is presented to Princess Margaret at the Royal Film Performance of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, photo by Harry Myers PIC; right: Felicity Fair Thompson gazes up at the lights of The Odeon Leicester Square

Peek inside this magic world of cinema with fabulous photographs to illustrate the moments!

BY Michael Grade

book reviews

Waterfall Way

by Natasha Murray

A story of obsession, secrets and murder, and of music, love and horses.

This third book in the Waterfall Way series sees Seth and Jules Hearn putting the past behind them and leaving Sussex to settle in Ireland. Jules must adjust to a whole new environment, but for Seth it is a kind of homecoming as he reunites with some of his oldest and best friends. With their new baby and exciting plans to build up their music career they throw themselves into their work and establishing their new home.

But sometimes the past doesn't stay put, and Jules found herself once again the target of obsession from an old unwanted admirer. An unwise spur of the moment act sent things spiralling out of control and soon Jules was fearing for the life of her young son.

Jules was not the only one, however, to find herself the object of ardent admiration. Their success on the local music circuit gained Seth his fair share of

Designs of a Gentleman The Early Years

by Judith Thomson

The year is 1662. There is nothing that young Philip Devalle desires more than to be at the Court of the newly restored King Charles II. But dark family secrets blight his young life and thwart his ambitions.

His experiences, however, have made him tough and resourceful, qualities that bring him at last to London and will stand him in good stead during the years to come.

Being the son of an earl opens some doors but to really embrace life at Court Philip must have a mentor. Naturally handsome and ambitious, under the tutelage of the Duke of Buckingham the young lord grows into a talented courtier – an accomplished swordsman and, with some of his rough edges smoothed off, popular with the ladies.

A test of his courage comes in the shape of the Plague as he rescues a young friend from the fetid streets of the capital, and then again the following year, fighting the Great Fire alongside other brave souls.

In time, however, he discovers that all is not what it seems, there is a sinister side to Court life and, as a man of action, he tires of his indolent lifestyle among

adoring fans. One starstruck teenager overstepped the bounds of decency. The tragic outcome threatened everything Seth and Jules had worked for.

Set against the backdrop of rural Ireland in the grip of the covid-19 pandemic, Waterfall Way is a roller coaster ride. There is bright light and grim shade, suspicion and reconciliation, murder and redemption, hope and despair.

But at its heart there is love, loyalty and dogged persistence in the face of overwhelming odds... and horses.

Available from Amazon. For more information about the Waterfall Way series follow the author on www.facebook.com/NatashaMurray3004

his petty-minded peers and scheming politicians. So seeking further adventure he joins the French army, allied with England in their war with the Dutch.

Here his mettle is thoroughly challenged but he proves his worth and his success on the battlefield is matched by his popularity at the French Court. Now more seasoned and cannier he navigates its social eccentricities with increased self assurance.

Yet a chance encounter with a crippled poet marks a change in his outlook and he discovers a new side to his nature. But this revelation leads to an ugly brush with religious bigotry – an omen perhaps.

The news of his father's death and the heightening of tensions at the English Court prompt Philip's decision to return to London.

And just like that we are set up for a sequel!

Available from Amazon and the East Grinstead Bookshop, for more information about the author and further books go to https://judiththomson.com/

Accents and other stories

by Willoughby Joseph

Accents is an eclectic and compelling mix of stories covering a wide range of subjects, including the power of chocolate cake, a perverse look at society's relationship with alcohol, memory and loss, and tea as a metaphor for diversity.

One of the beautys of short stories is that one can almost invariably imagine them on screen. Indeed many great feature films have started life as short stories. Accents is no exception. Easing us gently and humorously into the collection is the eponymous story 'Accents', followed by 'Booze' a rather startling take on an alternative society, and there is a surprise

A Boreen in County Waterford

by Tony Frisby

If you have a fondness for Ireland, perhaps as a native, or a yearning for the softly contoured verdant landscape, inexplicable in one who has never set foot on the Emerald Isle, this collection of poems will surely resonate with you.

I belong to the latter category. I have never been to Ireland, yet Tony Frisby's poems seem to strike a familiar chord.

He left Ireland aged 19 and has lived in England ever since, now settled by the coast in Sussex.

"So why then does my creative imagination keep delving into my past; a place whose absence has grown more and more like a presence in my grownup imagination?" he says.

His recollections of his childhood, the places and people, are vivid and evocative; contrasted with impressions of his present environment there is created

More Brevity

by Derek McMillan

From the pen of Worthing's short story doyen springs his latest collection of short stories and flash fiction.

Following on from his earlier offering 'Brevity', a mixture of audio short stories, this collection is full of McMillan's trademark dark humour, quick-fire observations and witty repartee. With subject matter ranging from the knights of Camelot to a modern day nursing home More

twist in 'Far From Home'. Joseph does not shy away from the dark and dramatic or nostalgic, all the better to engage us. Whether you read it from cover to cover or pick it up when you have a spare half hour, Accents is a great addition to your bookshelf.

Accents is published by Bourne to Write, of which Willoughby Joseph is a member, available through www.roddyphillips.com and Amazon.

a kind of harmonic. The poignancy of his words sometimes left me almost breathless as I read these verses.

I can do no better than to quote Dr John O'Donoghue, lecturer in creative writing at the University of Brighton.He says, in his note on the back cover: "Like a Rembrandt self-portrait, a patina of muted eloquence permeates the collection, transcending time with art and craft to give us this masterpiece from a life devoted to the work of words."

A Boreen in County Waterford is available on Amazon, buy a copy today, you will not regret it.

For more poetry and info about Tony Frisby follow him on Facebook – www.facebook.com/tony.frisby.1

Brevity is a very entertaining book to dip into. Available from Amazon. Derek McMillan runs #worthingflashfiction, a project to encourage the writing of flash fiction, i.e. under 1,000 words in length. Find out more at https:// worthingflash.blogspot. com/ and maybe even try your hand.

A Waste Of Time

–by Garf Collins

Peter picked his way carefully through the tourists as he walked along the South Bank of the Thames. The cheerful enthusiasm of the crowds communicated fresh energy to him, and he quickened his pace as he made his way to the Globe Theatre.

Richard II was one of his favourite plays. He was very keen to see the Globe’s production, which had received such good reviews.

As he sat down, he wondered if his old bones could survive a few hours of contact with the hard wooden seats. But as soon as the play started, he became lost once more in the story and forgot all about his discomfort.

This other Eden – this demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself

Against infection and the hand of war,

This happy breed of men, this little world

This precious stone set in the silver sea…

John o’ Gaunt’s words transported Peter back to his childhood. He and his brother Mark had grown up in their own demi-paradise on a farm in Dorset. They had barns and fields, and even a small lake with its own island to which they sailed in their little dingy. Sometimes they were Romans, sometimes Carthaginians, but often Englishmen battling against the French. Even the death of their father at Dunkirk hadn’t destroyed this idyll. It seemed, rather, to make them even more dependent upon each other. With these reminiscences, Peter lost all consciousness of the play or where he was.

He remembered how he and Mark had remained close as they grew into their twenties, even though their studies and work parted them. That is, until they married wives who did not get on, and this began to create a distance between them.

When their mother died some years later, he recalled, there was much uncertainty about the inheritance of the farm and the businesses which she had so successfully run. The brothers tried to sort things out amicably, but their wives became more and more insistent on what they thought was their due. Peter and Mark were unable to avoid being drawn into what became a very bitter dispute. They had finally had a huge row and had not spoken for over thirty years, although Peter did hear about his brother from a cousin. Ironically, the legal actions had eaten up most of the disputed wealth and the wrangling wives had both been divorced.

So is it in the music of men’s lives… I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.

Richard II’s words penetrated Peter’s reverie and seemed like a message directed just to him. The woman alongside him noticed him quietly weeping

– flash fiction

and thought how powerful the words must be. At the end of the play, as the crowds drifted out, Peter sat alone for many minutes and then, with an air of decision, took his phone from his pocket…

Now It’s Dark

–by Victoria Watson

Now it’s dark. I can see that old cow over the road with her fancy LED bulbs, showing off as usual

Now it’s dark I can’t see the wrinkles or the dirt or the fingerprints in the dust

Now it’s dark I can walk around the house naked and not frighten the neighbours

Now it’s dark I can sit in my underpants and watch re-runs of Friends without being disturbed

Now its dark I can watch people walk home from the pub and trip over the kerb and laugh at them

Now it’s dark I can watch people sitting in their cars, stuck at the traffic lights picking their noses because no one can see them

Now it’s dark I read in the front room and pretend I am cultural and civilized

Now its dark nobody can tell what I have cooked, and I lie anyway

Now it’s dark I can stop dyeing my hair and shaving my legs

Now it’s dark I can walk round the streets and watch people watching telly

Now it’s dark I can go to bed at 8 and pretend that its much later

Now it’s dark I worry about ghosts and monsters coming to get me

Now it’s dark I worry about the monsters I let get away

Now it’s dark I don’t walk through the cemetery

Now it’s dark the supermarkets are too bright

Now it’s dark I can eat an entire box of Maltesers and put the wrapper in the dustbin before anyone knows

Now it’s dark I feel the most alone

Now it’s dark I make everyone feel sick with all my scented candles

Now it’s dark I thank Christ for red wine, pies and Netflix

Now it’s dark I can wear purple and orange and not care what anyone thinks

Now it’s dark it’s so much easier to hide.

Garf Collins and Victoria Watson are members of the Bourne to Write group of writers led by Roddy Phillips. www.bournetowrite.co.uk

flash

No Drama

–by Derek McMillan

"Victor, I'm used to the fact that you smile every time a pretty girl (or indeed any girl) hoves into view. You don't have to lick your lips. It's distasteful."

"Soz, Babs."

"And you can stop saying 'soz' as if you wanted to get down with the kids."

"Sor, Babs."

Babs inhaled aggressively.

Victor kicked an innocent tin can with unnecessary force.

There was a pause.

They continued in silence until they reached the welcoming doors of The Mitre. Babs pushed the door to keep it closed and whispered harshly to Victor.

"And don't you dare smile at the waitress or I'll show you what a steak knife is for."

Victor nodded.

The usual waitress, whose name was Nadia, breezed up and handed over the menus. She spoke in a Croatian accent but her English was perfect.

"Here you are, Victor and Babs, our special today is macaroni cheese and we have a special offer I think you will like, Victor. The Casillero del Diablo is two bottles for the price of one. That applies to the Cab Sav as well as the Merlot," she added.

She looked more closely at Victor's face.

"What's up, Vic? You look as if you've lost a pound and found a sixpence."

"What's a sixpence?" Victor asked.

Nadia laughed.

"Come on, grandad, you're old enough to know what a sixpence is."

Victor smiled despite instructions. Babs glowered.

They ordered the macaroni on Nadia's recommendation. It was excellent.

Victor insisted on buying two bottles of Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon.

They ate in silence. Victor made sure not to smile when Nadia served the meal.

Over the macaroni, Babs suddenly said, "I haven't marked this before but you have the cold dead eyes of a killer."

Victor smiled broadly.

"It's 'remarked' not 'marked' and it is a murderer not a killer."

Babs fumbled with her capacious handbag.

"And you're not thinking of consulting a script at this stage, now are you?"

"I have not remarked this before but you have the cold dead eyes of a murderer. Listen, Vic darling, 'remarked'

is just wrong. It's mistranslated from the French. In English it is 'marked' or possibly just 'noticed'."

"And why is she telling me that I have the cold dead eyes of a murderer, do you think?" Victor said.

"She is not telling you. She is telling the audience, surely?"

Vic leaned back and reflected for a moment before saying the one word, "Proceed."

Babs hesitated. Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Shark," he said eventually.

flash flash fiction –

"You remind me of a shark I saw at the aquarium."

Victor showed his teeth.

"Exactly like that," said Babs.

"But you can't be scared of me, surely?" said Victor.

Babs laughed. "No of course not, Vic but you do have a sharky look about you. Come to think of it, why is there a steak knife on the table when we are eating Macaroni?"

They both went for the knife but Nadia was quicker.

"Soz," she said, "my bad."

"No, it's no good," Babs concluded, "there is no tension. You need a build up of fear. You wouldn't stab someone in a restaurant, too many witnesses."

"Oh, you're right, Babs," Nadia interjected. "By the way, how was your wine?"

Babs looked at the wine bottle. She had double vision and everything was getting blurry.

"We'd best take you out the back," said Nadia.

"Don't die in a pub, it looks bad," said Victor.

He smiled. Babs was beyond seeing the smile but it was for Nadia.

From 'More Brevity', a collection of short stories by Derek McMillan. Visit https://worthingflash.blogspot.com/

Emilia’s Knife

–by Josie Gilbert

Emilia wrapped the bloody knife in a tissue, then held it close to her body with one hand, tucking it under her cardigan. With some difficulty, she lifted some books with the other hand, steadied them and began walking. No-one noticed the concealed weapon as she headed across the library to the seldom used metaphysics section, clutching her burden tightly and smiling at any visitors who crossed her path.

After checking that no-one was watching her, she wiped the knife handle to remove her fingerprints, then hid it behind an unloved tome. She had no doubts that the police would find it – eventually. There was nothing to connect her to it though, and that was the important point.

She looked round to ensure she was still unnoticed and then Emilia calmly walked to the toilet and flushed away the gory tissue. Finally, she laughed. How she loved murder mystery evenings!

Your family’s never in your past, you carry it around with you everywhere, always: they are the warp and weft of you, however you pick at the faults in the fabric, however unravelled it seems, an unconscious endless weaving has made your pattern

even in hot tears, in cold rage, it’s impossible to strip it all from the loom; the knots are still there from the beginning

better to make do, and mend these rents and tears in your heart, craft a different garment from it, a coat of many colours to keep you from the cold.

–Francesca Duffield

Hibernation

I've got the winter blues she says, as she buries her hand in mine

Feet crunch through the garden frost

She's sad, but she's singing and I choose to take that as a sign.

These days when I look out of the window of four walls

It doesn't feel like a barricade, Knitted together these blue sky dreams, Grew flowers in my window and turned this party into a parade.

I tell her –

That when she feels numb with uncertainty about tomorrow

To plant rose-coloured things in the depths of the wilderness

That both she and the darkness can borrow.

That the winter is teaching us everyday

To send our roots down deeper within Curled in quiet unity in our earthing Before our birthing can begin.

That her ascension will bear fruit

For her small kingdom to witness Earth damp cocoon as limb-stretch awakens

And her sap becomes its richness. Out in the meadows there are songs With forgotten names and melodies

But they long

To fold you back into the stories of the earth

Once upon a time the river met the sea

And their salty tears would mingle

Calling in lost harmony

A spell that knew the forgotten wisdom of dust

And our grandmothers tried to teach us

Each seedling has its service

While seasons furnish fertile land

With the buried treasure of purpose.

And just like they told us

These foraged fruits

Can aid our evolution and rebirth

The magic of their medicine

Has always been

Hidden within the earth.

But for this gentle science

We have been hunted

Like yarrow

Grown by gravesides

We lay in darkness

While our stories were deconstructed

Our freedom feared by man's cold hand –

What profit can be spun from

A harvest so abundant?

But clear as obsidian

Earth's damp secrets

Are calling through

To remind us of the

Comfort of community

And the sweetness of solitude

From them we learn about resting and growing

When to bloom, or let things go.

When to unfold ourselves like origami creatures

To go to seed or fly

And when to lie fallow

They teach us

How to embrace impermanence

And when to anchor to the land

Rendered more beautiful by the line danced

Between strength and fragility

Across time's shifting sands.

Maybe crowning trees know our evolution is like them;

To rise by lifting all

Their dream for us is

To shine in the sharing

And that the kernel of your wildest truth

May break open in deep soil.

–Naomi Wood

poetry Threads

Layerings

All along this hump-backed coast, milk-white bands of chalk remind the thundering waves of ancient connections.

And between each layer of calcified bone, dark stripes of brittle flint mark a vegetable presence amongst the long-gone fish.

Yet, though each stratum differs, every chalky layer thick as an aeon, the flint, thin and sharp as knife-slashes across the cliff's open throat, all relate the same old truths; beginnings, endings, love and life metamorphosed now into something else: a block of chalk to write a poem upon a black welsh slate, or a broken flint sharp enough to hone a pencil keen enough to write upon the blood-stained pages of history; or scribe a poem to a loved one. And so, and as I always knew it would, speaking of the cliffs has brought me back to you and me, for we too are formed in the image of our past, all beginnings, every ending, each chunk of life consumed, layered now on the hinterland of our smiles.

All hopes, the heartaches, reflected in our long-memoried eyes: each kiss adored, each tear abhorred, each layer, every seam of chalk or flint, bed-rocking our place in the continuum that is love.

–Tony Frisby from 'That Blue Pause', 2017

Carrigeen Lane

I talked with her again today, conjured her in a summer bloom of elderflowers and cordial promise on the high, homely path above Saltdean; a doubting sorcerer, surprised again

to find my risen dead waiting at that same beflowered spot where she’d appeared

when I last lost my bearings and sought a known, familiar place, a known, familiar face to guide me.

And so, we talked the talk again, remembered the olden, golden days, those not so golden, olden days of grumbling bellies, groceries on tick and hiding under the stairs when the corporation rent-man called.

Then the knowing glance, a wistful smile and a voice that’s soft and knowing: I like it here; it reminds me of Carrigeen Lane where me and yer Da used to pick blackberries in the sunny, long-ago days. Now we both smiled, her eyes moist for the memories we’d shared, mine damp and misty for the things I hadn’t said, the things I couldn’t say,

had no time to say, before the dream expired and she disappeared back into my past, back into the grave

from which I’d resurrected her; that we could meet to talk and cry again for the things that couldn’t change.

–Tony Frisby from ‘A Boreen in County Waterford’, Oct 2021

N.B. All poems shown are subject to copyright

Coda

2021 review – the year of living dangerously

Part one – the magazine

Well it’s a New Year!

Happy New Year to all our advertisers, subscribers, readers, contributors, volunteers and outlets. It’s been an up and down year hasn’t it. Perhaps, and I say this with some reservations, 2022 will see the end of the worst of the pandemic and life will actually return to a more exciting and prosperous time.

Since early 2020 keeping the magazine alive has not been the easiest project. As you probably know, we managed to survive the lockdowns by publishing online and returned to print with our summer issue 32. The one good thing from the lockdowns was we are now continuing to complement the print issue by promoting the online version of the magazine, thus increasing our readership.

There have been two major difficulties we have been solving due to the fallout from the Coronavirus situation. These involve advertisers and the magazine distribution. Sadly we have lost some regular advertisers, either due to the fact they no longer exist or the difficulties they still have economically or, in the case of touring companies from abroad, travel restrictions. Hints at new lockdowns don’t help either! And as regards distributing the magazine, there are still some outlets who do not want to

take in any form of literature. Magazines, leaflets and brochures in these places, such as libraries, certain cafes and other spots, are verboten at the moment. However, we have welcomed some new advertisers into the magazine while an increasing number of previous regulars are returning to the fold, and we have dealt with the distribution problem by increasing our subscribers and mailing list, have established new outlets and dropped many more copies in spots that have proven to be the better outlets. Increasing our website and social media activity has also helped. And so we continue... onwards and upwards!

Part two – a very mini almanac

Reviewing the year gone by in the round, one is struck by the mounting media obsession to create

division, conflict and confusion. Political sleaze, culture wars, the pandemic and economic upheaval are perfect fodder for our ‘guardians’ in print to scare us half to death.

The year began with the storming of the United States Capitol Building, an unpleasant event that divided the American peoples even more, while in startling contrast, NASA's Mars 2020 mission landed on Mars, while on Earth the first vaccines arrived. And towards the end of the year COP26 occurred. It didn’t impress Greta Thunberg however, who stated "It is not a secret that COP26 is a failure.”

We lost some treasured creatives during 2021 including Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, actors Una Stubbs, Paul Ritter, George Segal and Christopher Plummer, to name just a few. RIP. And we were allowed to partially celebrate Christmas once again by our betters in Parliament. We thank them most graciously for allowing this brief moment of cheer.

As a footnote here is a quote from American architect, author, designer, inventor and futurist Buckminster Fuller, which sums up my own feelings about what’s occurring today and all our tomorrows; “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

Part three – The Cinema

Cinema seemed to achieve something of a minor renaissance during 2021. Here are a few highlights: I first read Frank Herbert’s epic 1965 novel Dune in the early 70s and was very disappointed with the 1984 film adaption directed by David Lynch. Denis Villeneuve’s new realisation of the book is a whole different concept, which will apparently be two films, as 2021’s film is titled on screen as ‘Dune: Part One’ with part two being scheduled for release in 2023. Audience responses have been very positive, and Villeneuve seems to have managed to create an aesthetic and exceptional adaption from a book which doesn’t lend itself to an easy transformation. Much in the same way Peter Jackson successfully reshaped

Tolkien’s behemothic Lord of the Rings saga, so Villeneuve has manged with the equally gargantuan Dune.

No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s much lauded final outing as James Bond became the third highest grossing film of the year. With Fleabag’s Phoebe WallerBridge lending a hand with the script, Bond was brought truly into the 21st century, and about time too.

A Quiet Place Part Two, a sequel to the 2018 film of the same name, sees John Krasinski direct his wife Emily Blunt and cast through another adventure in a post -apocalyptic world, terrified by blind aliens with an acute sense of hearing. One of the film’s box office records was achieving the biggest opening weekend of the Covid-19 pandemic.

And a mention must go to Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell’s debut as a writer/director and starring Carey Mulligan. She won the Best Original Screenplay at the 93rd Oscars, while also being nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. The film also garnered four Golden Globe nominations, an extraordinary achievement. The film itself may not be to everyone’s taste. When I first saw Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, my friend and I were the only people in the theatre to laugh at certain points, realising although it was a ‘violent thriller’ it was also a very dark black comedy. Similarly with Promising Young Woman. It is making a point, being a rape/revenge story very relevant to 2021, but there are some laughs there if you relax and look hard enough.

And keeping independent cinema alive in its inimitable fashion, The Picture House in Uckfield is glad to be back in full swing again, not only showing their eclectic mix of current movies and old favourites, but also live screening productions from the great ballet and opera houses and a new season of Arts on Screen. With their new luxury screen The Lounge and The Picture House Restaurant, a simple trip to the flicks turns into a great night out!

Part four – out and about again

It was so good to be able to resume our travels since restrictions were eased, touring the area distributing the autumn magazine and attending events. We found some new outlets including the fabulous Lighthouse Gallery in Eastbourne, beautiful art work, great coffee and cakes and a friendly welcome. Another favourite spot which serves the most magnificent cakes is the Tulip Tree Café in Chiddingstone, a stone’s throw

away from the famous castle.

We discovered by accident the Little Art Gallery’s pop-up shop for Christmas in Chichester and enjoyed a catch up with Linda, as we hadn’t been to the gallery’s permanent home in West Wittering for some time.

We were also delighted to visit the Lingfield Art Exhibition in October and view the tremendous range of work by a variety of artists from across the region. And we are always astonished by the standard of the winners of the exhibition’s Schools Competition, such marvellous work by artists of the future.

We were also privileged to have a personal tour of The Escape, Tonbridge’s new Art Centre, by sculptor

Guy Portelli, including an in-depth chat about his incredible creations while also viewing his work.

Of course it’s also a pleasure to view art ‘in the flesh’ again at various locations and to meet up with some of our regular advertisers, volunteer distributors and outlets. As an example, we had a very pleasant sojourn with Vic King of event creators Vaguely Sunny and the prestigious Harp on Wight International Festival, firming up the magazine distribution on the Isle of Wight, which will be aided by the added help of author Felicity Fair Thompson.

And I have to mention seeing the Mediæval Bæbes perform at St Mary’s Church in Horsham a few days before Christmas, as part of their 25th Anniversary tour, and also spending some time chatting with

them afterwards. A truly aesthetic and ethereal experience. A perfect Yuletide evening.

And so on we go into 2022! What adventures await? Well, I think all creative individuals and groups should have a purpose now to pour the coals on their creativity and help lift our spirits with their work and start to bring the culture back to life! After all, who else is going to do it?

opp top: The Lounge at The Picture House, Uckfield; opp bottom left: Lingfield Arts Schools Competition 3rd place winner Clara Mason from Oxted School with her painting 'Breathe'; opp right, from top: Distribution stops – Perfect chips at the Bent Arms in Lindfield; Tea and cake at the Tulip Tree café; Yet more cake at Flint Owl Bakery café in Lewes; above: Gill, ingénu/e editor hanging out with the Mediæval Bæbes after the Horsham gig; below: Sculptor Guy Portelli with his mosaic inspired by ‘Kind of Blue’ by Miles Davis, photo Rabah Ichadadene