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Image: Martha Tilston, A Night of Love Songs
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Happy INTERNATIONAL Month
When the weather is as it is right now, it’s always nice to daydream that you’re somewhere less grey and rainy. Join us for a step up from that daydream this month, as we take you on an exciting international adventure. Choose from traditional Indian style music, African Dance, a tour of Vienna, a monster hunt in Paris and a suitcase full of cuddly Australian creatures. Or if you’re feeling really adventurous enjoy a round the world trip with all 5 shows! No passport required but snap up your tickets quick!
BIG NEWS Practice line-up announced Our Director Gemma Okell spent the day with Creative Producer Cheryl Pierce and Arts Assistant Martha King from ICIA (Insitute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts) Bath last week selecting the latest companies to perform in our Practice scratch night, which takes place on Wednesday 26 February. We’re delighted to announce that... Helen Kirby of Labyrinth Dance will present Hum Drum Neil Callaghan & Simone Kenyon will present A Fine Balance The Mostly Everything People will present Saying Nothing Wolf Close will present Onto The Roof Join us on Wednesday 26 February for this exciting work in progress showcase. You’ll get a free drink and the chance to offer your thoughts and feedback to the artists. It’s your chance to shape the development of theatre and dance.
Find out more about the companies and their shows>>>
Image: Helen Kirby Hum Drum
Skin Deep Appearances can be deceptive
S
kin Deep is the second of our spring exhibitions and launches on Tuesday 25 February 6.30 - 8.30pm. With striking and wonderfully misleading images, we can’t wait to delve beneath the skin of this new exhibition. Exhibitions Manager Fiona told us more:
I selected Mike Newton and Clare Chapman to create a link between Harriet and Heather. Clare’s paintings look like they could be real objects but there is something just not quite right about them. Mike’s subject matter is more recognisable but his treatment of the images makes them out of the ordinary.
How were the four artists for this exhibition chosen?
How do you hope audiences will react to the tricks this exhibition plays with appearance and reality?
Whilst thinking about the theme, Artificial Things, two painters I have worked with previously came to mind. Their work is very different visually but both have an element of artificiality. Heather Wallace’s paintings tell stories about social situations in a representative style that links with a long history of painting. They try to look under the surface of people’s behaviours to their real personalities underneath. Harriet White creates closeup images of women with heavy theatrical makeup. From a distance they almost look like photographs, they are so realistic. Up close you can see how the images are created. For me her way of creating the paintings mirrors the act of applying makeup and of creating a different face.
I hope visitors will gain pleasure both from the paintings as objects but also from the images they portray.
Whose work do you think will most surprise people? I think Harriet White’s paintings will surprise in the way she uses paint to create photo real images.
The exhibition runs until Sunday 6 April and is open Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 3pm and on selected evenings. We’d love you to join us for the launch on Tuesday 25 February 6.30 - 8.30pm.
Image: Wanderflower by Harriet White
Image: Tavaziva Dance
Ten years of explosive dance T
hey wowed audiences with Sensual Africa and inspired our youth dance company Jigsaw. Now Tavaziva Dance is back and celebrating its 10th birthday. Performing excerpts from ten of its most memorable works, the company will blow you away with its unique blend of African and Contemporary Dance. We chatted to Artistic Director Bawren Tavaziva about the show:
What can we expect from this celebration of 10 years of Tavaziva Dance? Expect a development in the choreography and how my movement has evolved and become my own unique vocabulary. Of the ten pieces, which is your favourite and why? Greed because it was a challenge to tackle. Everyone has their own opinion of the mark of the beast. It was a topic that people don’t want to speak about. They either believe or don’t. Either way they are scared.
For newcomers to dance who are unsure whether the show’s for them, what’s that special ingredient that makes Tavaziva Ten worth the risk? Tavaziva is about spirit that you can relate to. Tavaziva dance is very human and the rhythms will make you want to get up and dance. What is your ideal audience response and what would you like them to take away from the performance? I want to take them on a journey of Tavaziva Dance. I want them to go through joy and sadness and see the beauty of the choreography.
Tavaziva Ten Wednesday 12 February 8pm
Tickets: £12 / £10 concessions (Members: £11 / £9)
Love music V
alentine’s Day can bring excitement or dread. This February 14th we aim to make it a wonderful night for all with a beautiful night of romance, passion and unrequited love expressed through music by Martha Tilston and Najma Akhtar. Najma told us about her music: When did you start performing and what led you to become a professional performer? After I completed a degree in Chemical Engineering, music entered my life purely by accident. As chance or luck would have it, my first album ‘Qareeb’ was very successful and catapulted me into the World Music arena. I was then asked to perform at the WOMAD and Glastonbury Festivals and later at Ronnie Scott’s in London. Since then I have collaborated with numerous artists and it’s still a wondrous journey of discovery, learning and appreciation of music that come from different countries and cultures. What are your musical influences and inspirations? My main inspiration comes from a sense of spirituality and even though all music has this in varying degrees it’s Indian music that does it for me, whether it’s Folk, Ghazal, Classical,
some Bollywood or Sufi. There are amazing singers from different areas of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh that inspire me. There are also many artists from Western backgrounds i.e. Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, Fairport Convention, The Doors and many more that make me go ‘Wow’. Tell us more about the traditional styles you’ll be singing. The ‘Ghazal’ style, which also means ‘a romantic poem’, is a genre that crosses from Arabia to the Indian sub-continent. Sang in Urdu, Arabic and Persian, poets express love lost and gained, the ecstasy of love, unrequited love, the drowning of sorrow and woes, etc. But poets also can write about the joys, beauty, love and devotion to God, so a Ghazal also touches the spiritual aspect of expression. The mysteries of death can also be expressed. The Ghazal is then brought to life by the singer, who would compose a sympathetic melody to capture the mood of the ghazal. The lyrics, voice, melody and arrangement create an atmosphere that enhances the poetry further.
Read the full interview>>> Book tickets now>>> Friday 14 February 8pm
Image: Najma Akhtar
Family Film A Monster in Paris (U): Saturday 15 February 11am
A Monster in Paris is an animated comedy featuring a mean police chief and a musical flea. When a wacky inventor, his camera crazy best friend and a madcap monkey are let loose in a laboratory they unwittingly create a giant flea named Franc. While the mean-spirited police chief hunts for the monster bug, feisty singer Lucille discovers the gentle flea has a wonderful talent. Can she and the gang save their new friend?
What the press say: “3D fun for all the family with impressive visuals and some catchy tunes.” Empire Magazine
Tickets: £4 (Members £3) Book your tickets now>>>
Film Museum Hours (12A): Thursday 20 February 7.30pm
Museum Hours is an absorbing story exploring the power of art to both mirror and alter lives. When a museum guard befriends an enigmatic visitor, the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum becomes a crossroads that leads the pair to explore their lives, Vienna and the Old Masters. Exquisitely photographed, Museum Hours reveals an unseen Vienna and offers a heartwarming ode to friendship.
What the press say: “This is one of those rare films that may change the way you view the world.” The Guardian
Tickets: £7 (Members £6) Book your tickets now>>>
Live Lunches
Image: Hannah Robinson
L
ive Lunches fill the café area with the sound of live music on many Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year. Programmed by our Music Programmer, Thomas Brooman, the series brings together some of the finest up and coming musicians from Salisbury and much further afield. Hannah Robinson Sunday 16 February 12noon - 2pm A regular in our Live Lunch series, Hannah Robinson performs with laid-back acoustic guitar and soulful vocals that echo those of Janis Joplin and Eva Cassidy.
Naomi Coombes Sunday 23 February 12noon - 2pm Naomi Coombes won Best Female Solo Performer in the 2013 Salisbury Music Awards and brings to the cafe stage a unique blend of Blues and Reggae influences.
Accompany the music with a delicious Café lunch served fresh from our kitchen Homemade Soup of the Day Homemade Quiche Homemade Vegetarian Bake Rosemary Focaccia Sandwiches Hummus with Pitta and Salad Oven-baked Jacket Potato Homemade Chilli con Carne Goats Cheese, Apple & Walnut Salad Mediterranean Salad Delicious Homemade Cakes Prices start from just £4.50 for lunch.
View our full Live Lunch programme>>>
Half Term Fun I
t’s nearly half term again and we’re preparing for another three days of animation fun in An Animated Experience with Matthew Dean from Tuesday 18 - Thursday 20 February: An Animated Experience with Matthew Dean Tuesday 18 - Thursday 20 February 10am - 4pm £85 • Ages 10 and over Play with storyboarding, set design, camera angles and lighting to create a short animated film in this fun and informative workshop with experienced workshop leader and Film graduate Matthew Dean.
Book your place now>>>
Altar Club Saturday 25 January 8pm
A
ltar Club is a blasting series of Ska,
Reggae, Indie, Pop and Punk. Prepare for live music, dancing and plenty of merriment with a DJ set until midnight: Headlining February Altar Club is the ever-popular Fearne performing weighty, heartfelt music delivered with excitement and sincerity. Alex Bedrijczuk is the modern incarnation of the folk storyteller and the band of Nick Bryson, Adam Pulfer, Darren Barrett punctuate these stories, drawing inspiration from Surf, Americana, Soul and the blues. Fearne has toured the UK extensively, sharing the stage with Athlete, Feeder, Nizlopi and Stornoway along the way. Joining Fearne on the bill will be Crippled Rook, Trapped on Amber and Daughters of Davis.
Altar Club Tickets: £5 in advance / £6 on the door (Members: £4 / £5 on the door) Book your tickets now>>>
Image: Fearne
Laughter Therapy W
ith little sunshine to add a spring to your step, a little laughter therapy is very much in order this month. We’ve just discovered the line-up for this month’s Barnstormers Comedy night so prepare yourself for a very funny evening:
Barnstormers Comedy Friday 28 February 8.30pm Tickets: £12 / £11 concessions / £13 on the door (Members: £11 / £10 / £12 on the door) The ever-popular Barnstormers Comedy Club returns on the last Friday of February with three great comedians from the London comedy circuit and a guest compere. Phil Dinsdale is known for his “huge stage presence” (Jongleurs Comedy), Andre Vincent is ferociously funny and Rich Wilson is “highly entertaining” (Time Out). Together, we’re fairly sure they’ll get the laughter rolling!
Book for Barnstormers Comedy>>>
Also coming soon: Susan Calman Friday 7 March 8pm A brand new show from the star of Radio 4’s Calman is Convicted. Susan is a regular on the News Quiz and the Now Show and has made guest appearances on Have I Got News for You and QI. Book tickets for Susan Calman now>>>
Once Upon A Time in a Western Wednesday 9 April 8pm Okay, so it’s not stand-up but it will be very funny! Once Upon a Time in a Western is a fast-paced journey across the Wild West with live music, physical comedy and pistols at dawn. Book tickets for Once Upon A Time in a Western>>>
Image: Andre Vincent
Coming soon
Images: The Just So Stories, A Roo in My Suitcase
Images: Phil Beer Band, Running on Empty, Tomten
February Diary Wednesday 12 Café LUA café Wednesday 12 Tavaziva Ten dance Friday 14
Night of Love Songs
music
Saturday 15
A Monster in Paris
family film
Sunday 16
Live Lunch: Hannah Robinson
music/café
Tuesday 18 Magic Lantern film/café Thursday 20 Museum Hours film Saturday 22 Altar Club music Sunday 23
Live Lunch: Naomi Coombes
music/café
Tuesday 25
Skin Deep Launch
visual arts
Wednesday 26 Practice theatre/dance Thursday 27
Hijack Open Mic
music
Friday 28
Barnstormers Comedy
comedy
PLUS One-off Workshops and Workshop Courses Full programme details available at www.salisburyartscentre.co.uk or you can contact the Box Office on 01722 321744.