April 2019
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Barry vibe characterise Corduroy, who won fans in the 1990s with a groovy set of filmic tunes. Tickets from £8.25, 7pm. fiddlers.co.uk Monday April 8 n Getset For Growth: Business Finance Principles Unit 24, KWMC: The Factory, Filwood Green Business Park, Hengrove Way. Masterclass on basic financial documents, and financial health in business. Email thefactory@kwmc.org.uk or call 0117 403 2306 or eto book a free place. One of a series of events for those starting in business. kwmc.org.uk/events n Kev’s Comic Masterclass Zion, Bishopsworth Road. Kev F Sutherland draws for the Beano, Doctor Who and Marvel comics, and wants to show you how easy it is. You’ll leave with a comic made by everyone in the class. £10, 10am-1pm, ages 7+. zionbristol.co.uk/events Tuesday April 9 n Board Games Tobacco Factory bar, North Street. A huge selection of board games, with beers, food, and gaming staff to guide you. 6-10pm, £3.50. tobaccofactory.com/whats-on n Joan Fontcuberta Martin Powell Foundation, Paintworks, Bath Road, Totterdown. Fontcuberta’s creative “constructions” challenge our trust in photography. Talk and book signing. 7pm, £8/£6. martinparrfoundation.org Wednesday April 10 n Hammers and Nails
Doomed? Not yet, says top scientist
half the nation will reply. We’ve got rising knife crime, more people living on the streets, our schools and health service are in crisis. And what about climate change? Well, take murder – in the medieval period, about 35 people in every 100,000 would be murdered every year. In Europe today, the risk of homicide is just one per 100,000. (Pinker might have pointed out that the UK may now be facing a knife crime epidemic, but the murder rate in London is half what it was in 1990.) Take life expectancy. In the 1770s, the average person worldwide died at about 30. Now it’s 71 – and that includes the poorer parts of Asia and subSaharan Africa. Disease, hunger, poor mental, health – they’re all on the decline. For Pinker, that’s down to the values that blossomed in the Enlightenment from the 17th
n Review Prof Steven Pinker Bristol Festival of Ideas, University of Bristol Wills Building TEVEN Pinker has been called one of the 100 most influential people on Earth. He’s up there with Stephen Hawking or Carl Sagan – so why haven’t more people heard of him? Perhaps because his message is so hard for many of us to accept: the world is getting better and better. More democratic, spreading wealth, education and better health across the planet – this is the tide of history, says this Harvard professor of psychology. Huh? He’s not talking about us,
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n WHAT’S ON
n WHAT’S ON Until April 6 n A Midsummer Night’s Dream Tobacco factory theatre, North Street. Tobacco Factory artistic director Mike Tweddle swaps the genders of the lovers to give a decided edge to Shakespeare’s fantasy of vengeful fairies, amateur actors, mindaltering herbs and dangerous desires. 7.30pm, tickets from £12. tobaccofactorytheatres.com Friday April 5 n Fun Quiz St Paul’s Church, Coronation Road, Teams of 4, £5 per person including light supper. Quiz starts at 7.30pm. n Carl Hutchinson: I Know I Shouldn’t Behave Like This Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken Studio, North Street. Following a sold-out 2017 tour, Geordie comedian Carl Hutchinson is back, displaying his uniquely adolescent approach to grown-up issues. 7.45pm, £13. thecomedybox.co.uk Sunday April 7 n Wedding Fair Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road. Among the 30 “alt-wedding” providers are circus acts from Rachel Mayes, temporary tattoos from Doris Loves and food from Cleverchefs, as well as florists, venue stylists and photographers. 10am2pm. For stories of murder, rioting, adultery and more, join the Murder, Mayhem and Mystery Tour at 11.30am, £8. arnosvale.org.uk/events n Corduroy Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster. Hammond organ and a John
April 2019
The Factory, Unit 24, Filwood Green Business Park, Hengrove Way. Learn how to design and make a laser-cut Easter card. Free, 10am-12.30pm, 16+, no experience needed. For details e-mail thefactory@kwmc.org.uk or call 0117 403 2306. kwmc.org.uk/events
Convicts turn the tables on civilised values n Our Country’s Good Tobacco Factory theatre, North Street Wednesday April 17-May 13
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HE STORY of the first convict colony in Australia – and what happens when an enlightened officer allows them to stage a play. Timberlake Wertenbaker’s play is based on a book by the acclaimed Australian author Thomas Keneally. Battling ridicule and the threat of hanging, the actors discover the lives they could have led if society had cast them in different roles. Set in the “wilderness” of Australia, the play questions the meaning of civilised society and who has the right to determine its Windmill hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. Create something out of wood using hammers and nails outdoors, 10am to 12 noon or 1-3pm. For children 4+, accompanied by an adult. £2. No booking required. windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk n Marky Jay: Magic Show Zion, Bishopsworth Road. With his monkey assistant Professor Steve Chimpington, Marky Jay shows off magic tricks and juggling, which never seem to go to plan! Ages 3+, 10.30am, £3. Prof Steven Pinker on Trump: “Everyone’s entitled to his own truth, but not his own facts”. century. Freedom, democracy, the value of education, and the increasing kindness we show each other and our children as we become wealthier, better fed, and better able to enjoy our lives. These facts, based on hundreds of studies, are rattled off to the backdrop of a rapid slide show, with graphs aplenty. Yet Pinker’s mild tone and West Coast rock-star perm soften the onslaught. Yes, climate change is a crisis: we have to reduce carbon emissions to zero. But the stats
Our country?
PHOTO: Joe Roberts
future. Our Country’s Good is the second in the Factory Company’s 2019 season and is directed by Anna Girvan, who returns to the Tobacco Factory from the RSC and the National Theatre. Tickets from £12; age 14+, 7.30pm, matinées 2pm. • BSL interpreted performance Friday April 26. • Post show talk follows the performance on Friday April 26. • Director’s Lab Friday April 26, 11am-5pm. Join director Anna Girvan on the set for a day. tobaccofactorytheatres.com zionbristol.co.uk Thursday April 11 n Wild Outdoors Club – Farmcraft Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. Farmcraft is a real-life adventure session, linked to the computer game Minecraft. Starting in a biome called Windmill Hillcraft, collect ore, stone, wood and gold to swap for tools, resources and equipment. Snack provided, £10, 10am to 12 noon. windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk n Easter Decorations KWMC: show that as societies get richer, they clean up their factories and power plants. No, it’s not enough, and the anti-fact brigade such as Donald Trump do not help. But for Pinker, progress is always possible. Why don’t we all know this story? Because news is about the unusual. If journalists had different priorities, we might be hearing how, yesterday, 137,000 people escaped from extreme poverty. The same thing happened every day for the last 30 years. Only once did Pinker shock: “Inequality is not an issue,” he said. “Poverty is an issue. How rich the rich are is irrelevant.” To many Brits, this sounds like right-wing politics. Pinker sees it as backed by evidence. This point aside, his arguments are overwhelming. Why aren’t we listening? Paul Breeden stevenpinker.com • More on the Voice website
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Your event could be highlighted like this for just £5. Email ruth@southbristolvoice.co.uk n Forest School Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road. Bushcraft skills in the cemetery’s outdoor centre. Learn to start and control fire safely in the outdoors, try campfire cooking and den building. Advance booking required, £20 (includes snack but not lunch), ages 6-10 (under 8s must be accompanied throughout), 11am-3pm. arnosvale.org.uk/events n Boozy Bingo Knowle Constitutional Club, 162 Wells Road, Totterdown. Eyes down and look in: seven games of bingo with cash and boozy prizes on all games. £5 per person, 8pm. Facebook: Knowle Constitutional Club n Johnny Dowd The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. Thirty years on from his dark and startling Americana debut Wrong Side Of Memphis, Johnny Dowd returns to the roots rock arena with Family Picnic, his new album. With DJ Cactus County. 7.30pm, £12. thethunderbolt.net Friday April 12 n The Secret History of Frenchay Hospital Knowle and Totterdown Local History Society. Alan Freke visits with an intruiging story of Bristol history. 7.30pm, Redcatch Community Centre, Redcatch Road, Knowle. Members £1.50, visitors £3. knowleandtotterdownhistory. org.uk Saturday April 13 n Riverbank Clean-up Franc, Friends of the Avon New Cut, welcome new hands to tidy the riverbank between Totterdown’s Banana Bridge and Bath Bridge. Meet at 9.50am. Usually followed by refreshments at 12 noon. franc.org.uk n The Selfish Giant Creative Workspace, Queens Road, Withywood. Soup Soap Theatre present the story of Grinter, a giant who lives alone in her huge snowy gardens. Until one day, when children from the
In your face: The cast of Trainspotting are also in your lap, drinking your pint, and are not entirely concerned whether you’re bothered ...
Choose cider, choose chaos, choose life n Review Trainspotting Loco Klub HERE’S a party going on in the fourth tunnel back in the Loco Klub, the appropriately grungy venue underneath the ramp at Temple Meads station. Acid house classics are playing loud and there’s a crowd of gurning ravers having a blast. They welcome the audience in, taking us to our seats around the long, catwalk-style stage. This is the third time Trainspotting Live, based on the novel by Irvine Welsh, has raged into Bristol. I’m so glad I finally caught it. Every member of the cast is excellent, but I was riveted by the dexterity, bravado and
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grey world outside find a way in, changing all their lives forever. 11am, £2.50 in advance or £3 on the door. With a drama games workshop from 1.30-2.30pm. creativeworkspacebristol.co.uk n Gary Numan & Kraftwerk Tribute Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster. Pat Martin pays homage to synth pioneer Gary Unman while Man Machine do the honours for Kraftwerk. 8pm, £10. fiddlers.co.uk Tuesday April 16 n Eggsplosions Day! Creative Workspace, Queens Road, Withywood. Craft workshop with Laura from Colourful Minds for a day of splat painting and safe but egg-splosive science experiments. Advance booking recommended. Drop in 11am-3pm, £2.50 in advance or £3 on the door. creativeworkspacebristol.co.uk Wednesday April 17 n Pete Ka Mally & guests: Not in My Dinnertime The Thunderbolt, Bath Road,
versatility of Lauren Downie who played June and a range of other roles, and Andrew Barrett as our hero Renton, charming, human and totally committed to the role – though he did corpse a little at his own ad lib-joke, insulting a couple of lads in the audience as Hanson lookalikes. This production is immersive to the max. Entering the party was exhilarating, you feel right inside it and I was grinning my head off. But anyone who’s read the book or seen the movie will know that the dark outweighs the light in this savage depiction of heroin culture in Edinburgh in the 1980s. There is explicit depiction of drug-taking – at once fascinating and devastating, in your face nudity (literally), sex, violence and all the bad language you could shake a syringe at (bad taste?) At one short end of the stage there’s a mashed up, soiled old
sofa, at the other, a stripped bare mattress. Action takes place end to end, and in and over and through the audience, with cast members swigging our pints – ‘“Ugh, that’s cider – I thought it was lager, ya ken?” – scooching in to sit amongst us, shouting, threatening, flirting, hugging or crawling over us – and they come in and out of the side tunnels, making great use of the performance space. The Worst Toilet in Scotland scene is a humdinger – I wouldn’t want to spoil it if you’re planning to go the next time the show comes through Bristol – but I can tell you it made the audience squeal and duck for cover. A brutal strobe scene summed up the chaos and confusion of one character’s descent to rock bottom. But there is something triumphant and joyous to have been part of it all – a reminder of the mantra – choose life! Beccy Golding
Totterdown. Pete K Mally is a metal fan, and a stand-up comedian. An evening of comedy and metal, with Craig Dixon , Dougie Carter and Bristol rock outfit Flowerpot. 7.30pm, £7. thethunderbolt.net Tuesday April 23-Saturday 27 n The Believers Are But
Brothers Spielman theatre, Tobacco factory, North Street. If you have What’s App on your phone, leave it switched on for this groundbreaking show exploring an online world of hate. Javaad Alipoor exposes a generation of young men Continued overleaf
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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk