From outdoor theatre to vintage fairs and equestrian events, there’s a fantastic choice of things to do in Kent this month
31 Jul
Showaddywaddy
‘The Greatest Rock & Roll Band In The World’ is a bold claim to make but, over 40 years, Showaddywaddy has certainly tried to live up to the accolade. The live show features such great hits as Under The Moon of Love, Three Steps to Heaven and Pretty Little Angel Eyes.
Tickets: £22.90. 0844 871 7620
Churchill Theatre, Bromley
Satnav: BR1 1HA
Throughout Aug
Hever Festival
The ladies take centre stage with a diverse selection of events under the festival banner, including Fallen Angels (30 Jul-1 Aug), one of Noël Coward’s most enduring comedies, The Magic of Streisand, performed by one of the UK’s top tribute acts (2 Aug) and an adaptation of Carmen (8 Aug), with mezzo soprano Lilly Papaioannou in the title role.
Tickets: £14-£18 (Fallen Angels); £16 and £25 (The Magic of Streisand); £27.50 (Carmen). 01732 866114
Hever Castle, Edenbridge. Satnav: TN8 7NG
Throughout Aug
Legends and Fairytales
Your children can take part in interactive activities alongside famous characters such as Snow White, Robin Hood and The Little Mermaid. Highlights include the Fairytales Got Talent Show (3 to 9, 17-23 and 31 Aug) and the chance to make your own crown (10-16, 24-30 Aug). At Grom’s Village you can see performances with Robin Hood too.
Tickets: Contact venue. 01892 861444
Groombridge Place & Enchanted Forest, nr Tunbridge Wells. Satnav: TN3 9QG
1 Aug
Hay Fever
The Changeling Theatre Group’s adaptation of this beloved comic play is set in the hall of the Bliss family home, where weekend guests are repeatedly thrown into melodramatic scenes wherein their hosts profess emotions and react to situations that do not really exist.
Tickets: £19.50 (adults), £8 (children under 16); £50 (family ticket).
01795 890202
Belmont House, Faversham
Satnav: ME13 0HH
1 Aug
Jimmy Carr
Due to the unprecedented demand, Carr has added a second Kent date to his tour. Come for the witty and incisive musings on the human condition; stay for the knob gags.
Tickets: £26.
0844 871 3015
Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone
Satnav: CT20 2DZ 1 Aug
Motown’s Greatest Hits
Enjoy the golden Tamla Motown days of the 1960s right through to the 1990s. With songs by The Four Tops, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie, The Isley Brothers, The Jackson’s, Stevie Wonder, and Edwin Starr, this will be an unashamed celebration of the legendary Detroit sound.
Tickets: £20 to £24. 01322 220000
The Orchard Theatre, Dartford
Satnav: DA1 1ED
1 and 2 Aug
Paws at the Castle
A packed programme includes an impressive line up of dogs from pedigree to cross breed, working dog to pampered pooch, with demos from Bravo Working Dog Rescue, The Royal Army Veterinary Corps and Fire Investigation Search Dogs.
Tickets: £9 to £42.50. 01732 865224
Hever Castle, Edenbridge
Satnav: TN8 7NG
2 Aug
Grass
Look down. What are you standing on? Explore the ground and all of its wriggly inhabitants in this quirky dance show for young children. Featuring worms, slugs, snails, spontaneous outbreaks of ant dancing and plenty of fun insect related facts.
Tickets: Pay what you can on the day
01303 760750.
Quarterhouse, Folkestone
Satnav: CT20 1BN
2 Aug
Summer Vintage Fair
Browse vintage stalls in a lovely setting, listen to music; enjoy lunch and traditional teas and make sure you visit the photo booth and the hair and beauty parlour. You can also watch Punch and Judy and the Lindy Hoppers.
Tickets: £3 (adult); £1 (child); free (under 5s)
01892 870347
Chiddingstone Castle, nr Edenbridge
Satnav: TN8 7AD
7 Aug
Rafts and kites
The expert rangers will be on hand to teach visitors everything you need to know to build a mini raft and make a kite.
Tickets: £5, plus normal admission charges
08442 491895
Sissinghurst Castle and Gardens, Cranbrook
Satnav: TN17 2AB
8 and 9 Aug
Equestrian Event
Chilham Castle’s International Equestrian event will be a fun day out for all the family. Watch some brilliant horses and riders from around the world compete, browse the trade stands, enjoy an ice cream and take a stroll down to the Chilham Water Jump.
Tickets £10 (per car); £2 per person
01227 730811
Chilham Park, Canterbury. Satnav: CT4 8DB
8 and 9, 15 and 16, 22 and 23 and 29 and 31 Aug
Jousting Tournaments
Hever Castle becomes the backdrop to a series of thrilling Jousting Tournaments. The brave Knights of Royal England will test their combat skills to the limit in the saddle and on foot. Expect action, stunts, falls and fights.
Tickets: £9 to £42.50. 01732 865224
Hever Castle, Edenbridge. Satnav: TN8 7NG
9 Aug
Imaginary Menagerie
Are Bumblewasps poisonous? Just what do Whistling Panks eat? What happens when you lick a Tresillian Toad? Answer these and more questions in a puppet-packed, ludicrously lyrical extravaganza from acclaimed creators of The Terrible Infants and The Trench.
Tickets: £5 to £20. 01303 760750
Quarterhouse, Folkestone
Satnav: CT20 1BN
9 Aug
Sarah Millican
In just seven short years, the popular funny girl has gone from Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to becoming one of the UK’s most successful comedians
Tickets: £25. 01227 787787
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
Satnav: CT1 2AS
15 Aug
Memorial Airshow
The world-famous Red Arrows display team takes to the skies over Herne Bay as part of what could be the town’s biggest ever one-day event. Expect aeronautic acrobats, the Great War Display Team, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Lancaster Bomber, Spitfire, Hurricane and a De Havilland Vampire heading up to the sky.
Tickets: See website for more details: http://baypromoteam.co.uk/
18 Aug
Hythe Venetian Fete
The five-hour extravaganza features processions of decorated floats, live music, entertainment, a children’s funfair and a grand firework display. The flotilla of floating tableaux will include entries designed and built by school and youth groups, sports clubs, amateur drama societies, community groups and an army unit.
Tickets: £7 to £18. 01303 267010
Royal Military Canal, Hythe. Satnav: CT21
18 Aug
Joe Pasquale
Last year, Joe and his twin brother Raynard opened a chip shop with the Dalai Lama in Skegness, called Batter Me, I’m Yours! But due to an accident with a pickled egg, the Lama pulled out and opened a rival chip shop called the Dalai’s Deep Sea Sausage. If you want to know more, go and see the show.
Tickets: £14 to £17.50. 01843 292795
Theatre Royal, Margate. Satnav: CT9 1PW
19 Aug
Fish and Chip Suppers
Enjoy a fish and chip supper on board a diesel-hauled train as the sun sets on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. Meal choices include meat and vegetarian options.
Tickets: £25 (adults); £19.50 (children)
01580 765155
Kent & East Sussex Railway, Tenterden
Satnav: TN30 6HE
20 Aug
Twelfth Night
Join the Lord Chamberlain’s Men as the troupe performs Shakespeare’s romantic comedy in the beautiful setting of Emmetts Gardens.
Tickets: £15 (adult); £8 (child). 0844 249 1895
Emmetts Gardens, Sevenoaks
Satnav: TN14 6BA
21 Aug
The Jive Aces
The Jive Aces are one of the UK’s top Jive and Swing bands. The fantastic live show includes classic songs from the Aces’ latest album King of the Swingers, such as Bare Necessities, Mack the Knife, Sing Sing Sing and the hit version of Morcambe & Wise’s Bring Me Sunshine.
Tickets: £15 and £23. 01732 866114
Hever Castle, Edenbridge. Satnav: TN8 7NG
23 Aug
The Secret Garden
Join young Mary Lennox on her journey of discovery as she travels to her uncle’s house in the Yorkshire countryside, makes some unexpected friends and magical creatures help her unlock the mystery of the secret garden.
Tickets: £14 (adult), £10 (children under 16 and students); £42 (family ticket).
01795 890202
Belmont House, Faversham.
Satnav: ME13 0HH
29 and 30 Aug
bOing! Festival
Get ready for an amazing weekend of the very best in theatre, dance, music, films and fun for all the family. Highlights include the Aurora Orchestra and its magical, musical adventure, Far Far Away, which combines original story telling with multi-sensory and interactive activities, and the Urban Playground, which will present Steam. Relive the imagined life of a steam locomotive through scenes inspired by the silent movies of Buster Keaton, the gun fights of the old West, the rooftop stunts of James Bond, the hero workers of the Soviet avant-garde, the daily grind of rush hour and the heartbreak of the First World War.
Tickets: Various, 01227 769075
University of Kent Campus, Canterbury
Satnav: CT2 7NZ
29 Aug
Kent County Youth Orchestra
The orchestra teams up with one of the world’s leading saxophonists, John Harle in a concert programme of some of the greatest music written for the cinema, including Star Wars, Out of Africa and The Big Country.
Tickets: £6.50 to £16.50. 0333 666 3366
Winter Gardens, Margate. Satnav: CT9 1HX
29 Aug
Sorcerer’s Apprentice
The show features music by Paul Dukas (as used in Fantasia); more water then you have ever seen in a play before; and some eye-popping magical illusions designed by the world-famous illusionist Paul Daniels.
Tickets: £15; £9 (child). 0844 249 1895
Ightham Mote, Sevenoaks. Satnav: TN15 0NT
31 Aug to 5 Sep
Love Me Tender
From the producers of Hairspray, Midnight Tango and West Side Story comes a hilarious, feel-good musical that features some of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits and stars the award-winning singer Mica Paris. In a small town in 1950s America, a guitar playing, hip-swivelling stranger rides his motorbike into town. Is he The Devil in Disguise or a Hound Dog in his Blue Suede Shoes? Get All Shook Up and find out.
Tickets: £20.90 to £50.90. 0844 871 7620
Churchill Theatre, Bromley. Satnav: BR1 1HA
