Greenwich news and information
Greenwich Beer and Jazz Festival gets underway this evening with a performance by the James Taylor Quartet.
The Festival, now in its third year, lasts through until Bank Holiday Monday and will also include performances by, amongst others, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Brand New Heavies, Incognito and Tony Hadley with his Swing Band.
The festival takes place in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College and
New Perspectives theatre company returns to Greenwich Theatre next week with their new show, ‘Those Magnificent Men’, written by the critically-acclaimed comedy writing duo, Brian Mitchell and Joseph Nixon.
It’s a classic tale of plucky British pioneers – Captain John Alcock, dashing WW1 fighter pilot, and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown, navigational genius with a gammy leg, huddled together against the elements in the tiny timber and canvas cockpit of their converted Vickers Vimy biplane – talk about winging it!
Jump on board for a fast and furious comic tour-de-force in a race to conquer the skies over the Atlantic. Thrill to the sheer adventuring spirit of our unlikely heroes, marvel at their daredevil aerial antics, and wonder at how the whole bally thing is told with just two actors and a crate full of funny props.
SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR GREENWICH.CO.UK READERS
See ‘Those Magnificent Men’ at Greenwich Theatre for just £5 (normal price £15).
To take advantage of this fantastic offer simply call the Greenwich Theatre Box Office
on 020 8858 7755 and quote “Greenwich.co.uk offer”
‘Those Magnificent Men’
Wed 5 – Sat 8 May
Eves, 7.30pm; Mat, Sat 2.30pm
T’s & C’s: This offer ends at 6pm on 8/05/10. This offer is available for the production of Those Magnificent Men
at Greenwich Theatre. This offer is not available online. Booking fee applies.
A string of high profile music acts will be coming to Greenwich this July for the Greenwich Summer Sessions.
The sessions will kick off on Wednesday 21st July with Seth Lakeman and the Levellers. In the following days, music fans will be able to enjoy the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, former Squeeze star Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra – joined by Alison Moyet and Gilson Lavis, and then Deptford band, Athlete, will be headlining the final day.
The Summer Sessions will take place in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College.
Tickets can be purchased online via Ticketmaster:
Discounts are available for residents of the London Borough of Greenwich.
Transport for London (TfL) has got together with the London Boroughs and Walk London to put together some free guided walks which will span the width, length and breadth of the City.
The led walks will take place on London’s Strategic Walk Network, a series of seven long-distance routes broken up in to shorter sections. The 350-mile Network is one of the initiatives being promoted by TfL and the Boroughs to help London become one of the most walking-friendly cities in Europe by 2012.
Greenwich is one of the areas that will be explored with a choice of four walks. Participants of these walks will be able to get up close and personal with the site of the 2012 Games and the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park. There will also be a special walk, “Exploring Seafaring London”.
Ian Bull, who is leading the Charlton Station to Plumstead walk, said:
“We’re cherry-picking some of London’s most historic locations ranging from the geological to the industrial archaeological. We’ll visit the lovely parks around Charlton with their animals and views over the City before the Thames Path takes us to the immense industrial achievements in Woolwich. The Thames barrier represents the 20th Century followed by a possibly unrepeatable visit, and the first for 96 years, inside the cathedral-like 19th Century factory buildings of the Royal Arsenal.”
Ben Plowden, Director of Integrated Programme Delivery at TfL, said:
“London’s great landmarks and green areas are best explored on foot. That is why we are working with our partners and stakeholders to make walking in this city as attractive and enjoyable as possible by investing over £17 million this year to improve conditions across the Capital. Seasonal events like the ‘Winter Wanders’ are a great way to inspire Londoners to get out and either walk on their own or in groups to enjoy their surroundings and to keep fit. These events also show Londoners how walking can be a quick and efficient way of getting from A to B and encourage them to make more journeys by foot.”
The Chinese State Circus are currently setting up at Blackheath, ready to launch their show tomorrow which runs through until Boxing Day (with a day off on Christmas day).
The breath-taking family show includes Swinging Poles, Spinning Plates, Hats Off!, Contortion, The Shaolin Wu-Shu Warriors, The Monkey King, Olympic Stars, Diablos, the 2008 World Circus Award nominated Sensual Silks and Hoop Diving.
You can buy tickets online for the Chinese State Circus at Blackheath from Ticketmaster.
JM Barrie’s magical story of Peter Pan arrived at the O2 today with a critically acclaimed production in Meridian Gardens.
The show was big success when staged in Kensington Gardens earlier this year, and now you can see it at the O2 on the Greenwich Peninsula until the 10th January 2010.
Performed “in the round” in a specially commissioned, state-of-the-art 1300 seat theatre-tent, the production includes a breathtaking 360-degree projected scenic design.
Jonathan Hyde takes on the role of Captain Hook, Ciaran Kellgren is Peter Pan and Abby Ford appears as Wendy.
Tickets for the production are available now from Ticketmaster.co.uk
Successful boyband, JLS, have announced a new arena tour for December 2010, which will include a visit to the O2 arena in North Greenwich.
The male vocal harmony group have enjoyed enormous success since they were the runners up in 2008’s X-Factor with number one hit singles “Breathe Again” and “Everybody In Love”
The group said in a statement on their website, “It’s every singers dream to play venues like the O2, Wembley and Manchester’s MEN arena to such huge audiences! It’s going to be a spectacular and we can’t wait for all our supporters to see the show!!”
It will be something of a homecoming for band member Marvin Humes, who originally hails from Herbert Road, Woolwich.
Order tickets online from Ticketmaster.
Culture comes to Greenwich this week in all forms, with a packed diary of music, poetry and arts events all over town and plenty of opportunities for everyone to get involved.
For music geeks like me, The Greenwich International Early Music Festival and Exhibition at the Old Royal Naval College is undoubtedly the highlight of the week. As well as providing an opportunity to see and touch ye olde musical instruments such as hurdy-gurdies, sackbutts and crumhorns, the festival is also bringing them back to life with a series of concerts and master classes.
Catering for the thoroughly modern end of the musical spectrum is Greenwich Theatre’s Showstopper. This musical is 100% improvised on the night based on audience suggestions, so I can’t tell you what it’s about yet, but it’s been a huge success to date and will no doubt be just as well received this time. If that whets your appetite for participation, you can to get creative at the Cockpit Arts Studio in Deptford, who are holding hat-making classes from Tuesday. There’s also a Kickstart Photography Workshop on Sunday afternoon at the Viewfinder Gallery, where participants pick a theme together, then go off and take photographs before reconvening to compare results.
The spoken word is the order of the day at the Albany, with Beyond Worlds Remixed on Tuesday evening. Four South African poets, including Poet Laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile, will be showcasing their talent and sharing the stage with young British rappers and emcees (MCs) from the group SLAMbassadors. Tuesday’s obviously a day for poetry in Greenwich, as the Observatory are holding a Poems of Space evening, looking at the relationship between verse and science.
Finally, if your son or daughter is keen to follow in the footsteps of Greenwich’s own Rachel Adedeji (OK, so I know she’s out of the X Factor now but she’s still done pretty well), then Greenwich Community College are holding an open evening on Tuesday. Rachel’s course, Musical Theatre, is a specialty of theirs but they run courses for school leavers in a wide range of practical disciplines from Mechanics to Fashion.
The approach of Remembrance Sunday this weekend has got me thinking about what life would have been like in wartime Greenwich. For the vast majority of us the thought of air raids and evacuations taking place on our doorstep is pretty fantastical, but only 70 years ago it was all too real. Greenwich’s proximity to trade hub the Isle of Dogs and its military focal points made the town an attractive target for German bombers during the Blitz of WW2. Scores of residents were evacuated and even the park was not untouched – the flower gardens were used to house anti-aircraft guns and the trees were clipped to allow the guns a better firing range. Greenwich Cemetery is known to house over 700 war graves, many of them unidentified soldiers.
In memory of those lost, Remembrance Sunday services are taking place at churches across the borough including St Alfege’s and Holy Trinity (at the Millennium Primary School) in East Greenwich. There are wreath-laying ceremonies at Charlton, Blackheath and Plumstead on Saturday morning, and Eltham and Abbey Wood on Sunday (full details of all ceremonies here). St Alfege’s are also marking the occasion with Songs of War and Remembrance on Saturday evening and the Firepower museum in Woolwich is holding a multi-faith remembrance event on Sunday.
Happily, these days the only explosions you’re likely to hear in Greenwich are much more friendly ones. Yes it’s the annual Blackheath fireworks display, which this year takes place on Saturday evening at 8pm. With Greenwich’s jam-prone infrastructure, lack of parking space and the questionable reliability of the number 286 bus, I’d highly recommend walking there and be aware that you are not allowed to take your own sparklers. On the plus side this yearly tradition, now co-financed by Lewisham and Greenwich borough councils, will no doubt be a good show, with 30 minutes of uninterrupted fireworks to tire even the keenest rocket enthusiasts.
What else is happening in Greenwich this week? Add other events in the comments below…
This week being both half term and Halloween, choosing a theme for my ‘what’s on’ column pretty is much a done deal: a collection of good, clean, occasionally spooky and fun events for Greenwich’s younger folk (and young at heart).
The National Maritime Museum & Planetarium are truly leading the way with scores of dedicated family activities throughout the week. From making your own instruments for Space Music to dressing up as a ghost on the Haunted House Family Fun Day, there’s plenty to keep the little ones and their parents entertained. On the more educational side there are also plenty of story-telling sessions, such as the Inuit Stories in the North-West Passage exhibition, and a Halloween Skies planetarium show.
For older kids with a strong disposition, the story telling takes a much darker turn at the Fan Museum with Candlelit Tales for Halloween on Thursday evening. Drama, prose and verse combine in this spooky celebration of all things ghoulish and wicked. Guaranteed to get you into the Halloween spirit and, if you’re easily scared like me, have you jumping out of your seat.
Teenagers who may have outgrown ghost stories but still harbour thespian tendencies might be interested in Greenwich Theatre’s Make Your Own Musical project. Young people aged 14-18 will be turning their hands to writing, directing, stage design and acting in this 3 day ‘from scratch’ project, which culminates in a Friday night showcase of their efforts.
Along similarly tuneful lines, Blackheath Halls are teaming up with The Conservatoire for this week’s Blackheath Youth Orchestra project from Tuesday-Thursday. Any 11-18 year old who can play an instrument to grade 3 standard is welcome without an audition and the end results will be on display at a concert in Blackheath Halls on Thursday evening.
Finally, if you really want to tire your kids out, there’s a Boys vs Girls Judo Competition at St Barnabus Church Hall, Eltham, every evening from 6pm this week until Thursday. The event is run by the Subarashi Judo Club, who are beginner-friendly and also welcome disabled people to the training sessions. I’m exhausted just thinking about it!