insideKENT Magazine Issue 42 - September 2015 | Page 23

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT Canterbury Festival Returning this October for two weeks (17th-31st), Canterbury Festival will once again transform the bustling city centre into a hub of entertainment. Female Gothic © Dyad Production Austentatious The streets will be alive with the sound of outdoor pianos as Luke Jerram’s installation Play Me I’m Yours takes up residence throughout the city. The historic epicentre of our city, the cathedral, will not only host high-calibre classical concerts, but will become a cinema for two evenings, screening Murder in the Cathedral; a 1951 adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s play about the demise of Thomas Becket. The Spiegeltent, seeped in 1930's glamour, is back at the Spitfire Ground St Lawrence, to host a multitude of events each day including music, cabaret and comedy. If you would like the chance to dance, there will be a night of tango, a 1940's Team Tim tea dance, some toe tapping bands, and, of course, disco at the late night Club Spiegel. Family friendly shows will run throughout the October half term, including the chance to blast off into space with Team Tim, some highly revolting Roald Dahl-like verses from Jay Foreman, and a disco for both little and big kids. All Hallows’ Eve falls within the festival period, and to reflect this spooky time of year there will be a lecture on how to survive a zombie epidemic. Dyad Productions will be performing its celebration of ghostly gothic tales in Female Gothic, and there are plenty of gruesome walks around Canterbury to get you in the Halloween mood. There will be an abundance of comedy including BBC regulars Rich Hall, Andy Hamilton and Jeremy Hardy. Fresh from winning a Chortle award, Austentatious will be performing its Jane Austen-based comedy improvisation show, while the MozART Group will have you chuckling to Tchaikovsky and bursting a blood vessel to Bach. Canterbury Festival will take place from 17th31st October 2015 in venues across Canterbury. The full programme of events is available from www.canterburyfestival.co.uk or a paper copy can be requested on 01227 452853. Tenterden Folk Festival 2015 Tenterden Folk Festival 2015 kicks off on Thursday 1st October with a special fundraising concert in the Town Hall, which features North East singer songwriter, Jez Lowe. Jez was one of the nominees for Folksinger of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2015, and his song “The Pitman Poets” was on the shortlist for best original song. Also appearing in this concert, which is supported by Around Kent Folk, are Kentish duo Hudson and Cutler, plus Tenterden’s own Mark Gibson. Jez Lowe Morena Slovak Dancers The four-day festival, now in its 23rd year, continues throughout Friday and Saturday to late on Sunday 4th October with a diverse mix of traditional and contemporary folk song, music, dance, crafts and traditions. To ensure there is something for all the family, numerous free events take place in and around the town centre. In the marquees on the Recreation Ground, there will be free music and dance stages, as well as a huge selection of stalls selling everything from crafts to cakes, greetings cards to fudge, food and real ales, folk music CDs to guitars, and much more. There are more stalls in the High Street where you will also find hundreds of Morris dancers, Slovakian dancers, Appalachian dancers, Hooden Horses and street entertainers. 23 On Saturday afternoon, all of the Morris dancers and street entertainers will take part in the festival procession, as the wide High Street is lined with people who come to see the spectacle. Meanwhile, the four town centre pubs and one or two cafés will be thronged with folk singers and musicians who descend on the town for the weekend. A free programme of events will be available from September. Weekend Tickets, covering all events from Friday to Sunday; Thursday Evening tickets; and other single event tickets are already on sale direct from www.tenterdenfolkfestival.org.uk. You can also purchse tickets from www.musicglue.com/tenterdenfolkfestival/ tickets. Tickets will also be on sale at Tenterden Gateway and Ashford Gateway Plus. [email protected] @tenterdenfolk