Our guide to the best events in Sussex
THEATRE AND STAGE
11 June 11am & 2pm
Roald Dahl & The Imagination Seekers
The Hawth Studio Crawley
Roald Dahl’s stories have enthralled families for generations – and all the family will love this new, unique show based around his most popular books. Get Lost and Found have been commissioned by Puffin Books to create an interactive production around the works of the world’s number one story teller. The result is a thrilling story told through a clever combination of performance, games and creative play that explores Dahl’s extraordinarily popular novels including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG and The Twits along the way.
£26 for family of four, £7.50 adult. hawth.co.uk 01293 553636
14 – 18 June
Dead Lies
Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne
Eastbourne is the setting for the world premiere of Dead Lies, a fast-paced, hard-hitting thriller from the No 1 best-selling crime novelist Hilary Bonner, starring Holby City’s Jeremy Edwards.
Revolving around a fiercely fought election campaign, Edwards portrays politician Peter George who promises a new kind of politics without the spin and the sleaze.
|Of course, there’s a skeleton in his cupboard which shakes the faith of his nearest and dearest, threatening to bring down Britain’s new saviour. Cue a feast of murder, scandal and sexual indiscretion, which will tell just how far George will go to save his own career.
There’s more than a familiar whiff of Westminster as the story unfolds, with plenty of plot twists along the way. Edwards is supported by a stellar cast including Claire Dyson, fresh from appearing alongside Liam Neeson in Made in Italy, Alicia Charles, of Coronation Street and Holby Cityh fame, and Portia Boorof from Doctoros and EastEnders.
£22.50, adults, £10 child. Eastbournetheatres.co.uk 01323 412000.
26 June 11am and 2pm
The Queen’s Knickers
Pavilion Theatre
As we all know it’s a busy year for the Queen. She has lots of important events to attend as it’s her Platinum Jubilee, but disaster has struck at the place – Her Majesty’s knickers have been nicked!
Based on the hilarious book by Nicholas Allen this new musical adaption brings to life the story of a little girl who is wandering if the Queen will wear her ‘at home’ knickers adored with corgis or her ‘garden party’ knickers, or maybe even her woolly Balmoral ones. Packed with songs, silliness and even a corgi or two, this is certainly one way to celebrate the Jubilee weekend with all the family.
From £12, suitable for ages 4+.
MUSIC
11 June – 10 July
Festival of Chichester
The festival opens with a free open-air concert on Cathedral Green featuring H.M. Army Band, Sandhurst and the Bernardi Music Group.
High-profile names lined up for the festival’s 10th year include cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, combining Elgar’s magnificent Cello Concerto with Tchaikovsky’s emotional Symphony No. 6, the Pathetique, 23-year-old saxophone superstar Jess Gillam who’ll display her virtuosity with the London Mozart Players and Ensemble Reza who will delve into the heat of jazzy rhythms and cool blues rubbing shoulders with classical sounds at St Paul’s. There’s also a free lunchtime concert at Chichester Cathedral with rising star pianist Elena Toponogova.
Tickets from www.thenovium.org/boxoffice or 01243 816525
Le Nozze di Figaro
Until 16 July
Glyndebourne
It’s a familiar story. One wedding. One marriage on the rocks. One scheme. One day. Michael Grandage’s five-star production of Mozart’s greatest comedy is the latest in a long line of memorable Glyndebourne stagings of this opera, stretching back to the festival’s first ever season in 1934.
But this production moves the action from the 18th century to the swinging 1970s, complete with sleek sports cars, short skirts, Pucci prints and Alhambra-inspired interiors. Bass-baritone Brandon Cedel and soprano Hera Hyesang Park lead an international cast. Giancarlo Andretta and Nicholas Carter conduct. It’s not to be missed.
£18 – £270 glyndebourne.com
Three Friday Nights presented by heycar
3, 10 and 17 June
Goodwood Racecourse
To celebrate its 10th year, Goodwood Racecourse’s Three Friday Nights presented by heycar is back bigger than ever with a trio of leading DJs taking to the stage. Radio 1 Breakfast show’s Greg James is kicking off the party on The Downs on 3 June for an evening of party anthems followed a week later by the iconic music producer and former Radio 1 DJ ‘Queen of Radio’ Annie Mac with classic tracks and remixes. Guaranteed to bring the crowd to a crescendo is Ibiza King, house and techno veteran Carl Cox.
Known as one of the most exciting events to take place on the South Coast, Three Friday Nights begin after an evening of horseracing when the sun sets and the parade ring transforms into a laser-lit dancefloor for the DJs to get the party started.
£40, adults, £30 for 13–17-year-olds. Goodwood.com or 01243 755055.
EXHIBITIONS
11 June – 25 September
A Life in Art and Reuniting the Twenties Group
Towner Eastbourne
The works of pioneering female gallerist Lucy Wertheim will be shown alongside the celebrated young artists she supported when she opened her gallery in London in 1930 until its closure at the outbreak of World War II in September 1939.
Frustrated that only established British artists were being shown in commercial galleries at the time, Wertheim created the Twenties Group as a forum for ‘painters of the future’. The group, which included Barbara Hepworth, Roger Hilton, Victor Pasmore, Robert Medley, Nan Youngman, Mervyn Peake and Edna Ginesi had several exhibitions before the gallery was requisitioned as an air raid shelter at the start of World War II. Paintings, drawings and sculptures from her dispersed collection will be brought together again for the first time in 50 years.
Tickets, £11, under 18s and Towner members free townereastbourne.org.uk
25 June until 25 February 2023
The Art of Chichester: 60 Years of Creativity
The Novium Museum
Sixty years of artistic and cultural achievement across Chichester will be celebrated at a new exhibition, embracing professional and amateur work across a variety of art forms.
Curated by David Elliot, the exhibition will tell the story from 1962 — when Chichester Festival Theatre opened — to the present day of how art has put the city and surrounding area on the map.
The museum is collaborating with local charity Article 12 Arts on a series of creative workshops where young participants, include asylum seekers supported by Sanctuary in Chichester, will be invited to explore their own responses to identity and place through different artistic mediums. Their Artwork workshops will be displayed in a community exhibition at The Novium Museum from 24 September 2022. thenovium.org
OUT AND ABOUT – JUBILEE EVENTS
Until 12 June
Chichester BID Platinum Jubilee Trail
Families can celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in a unique way in Chichester this month – using augmented reality on a trail around the city to discover more about the monarch’s 70-year reign.
Guided by a character called Sir Barnaby Beacon, the aim is to find seven characters at seven check-in points that have been hidden in the city centre to learn more about the Queen’s history.
Free, and a fun activity, families don’t need to download anything to take part. They simply have to look out for the seven characters (vinyl displays) in the windows of local businesses and scan the QR code to bring them to live and engage with them. Find all seven and players will be rewarded with a free e-book.
Start by clicking on https://highstreetsafari.com/locations/jubilee-chichester to get a map to the first ‘story-point.’
From 4 June – Sunday 30 October
Flower Power Standen House and Garden
Step back to 1972, for a summer of Flower Power at Standen to celebrate the year, 50 years ago, that the house that’s known for its Arts & Crafts collection was gifted to the National Trust.
Take a look through star-shaped sunglasses as Standen – which showcases the genius of architect Philip Webb and his friend William Morris - pays homage to the era that gave the world Space Hoppers and Flares. Marvel at the Seventies-inspired room, created by Morris & Co with their Sanderson Triad wallpaper collection and listen to contemporary interior designers explain how the 70s inspire them today. Play fuzzy felt on the billiard table, take photos at the selfie station and imagine what it was like to have a fondue party in the dining room. Try out Seven Fashion upstairs, and listen to the music that made everyone want to be the Dancing Queen. Groovy Baby!
Free event, admission applies. nationaltrust.org.uk
5 June from 11am
The Crown Inn & Dial Post Village Jubilee Party
Village Green
Join the villagers in Dial Post, West Sussex for a traditional Jubilee party on the green outside The Crown Inn where activities including splat a rat and horse shoe throwing will be in full swing.
There’s also a coconut shy, wheel of fortune, a Hog Roast and sizzling BBQ and bar along with a dog agility course, Jubilee bakeoff and photography competitions. The day culminates in the lighting of the Jubilee Beacon at 7.30pm. Proceeds from the day go to the Chestnut House Hospice for Children. dialpostvillage.co.uk
10, 11 and 12 June
South of England Showground, Ardingly
With more than 100 fun things to see and do, this iconic three-day show sees the return of equestrian and livestock competitions, displays from the army, farmers, artisans and landowners in a celebration of the countryside.
From cattle parades to international show jumping, scurry driving and heavy horses hound displays, there’s something for everyone in the family to enjoy. Culinary delights are on offer from local producers, countryside crafts including trug making and hedge laying can be seen, and the Great Gatsby band Casablanca Steps are playing live to keep everyone entertained.
£21.60, adults, £19.80, senior citizens/students (inclusive of 10% online discount until 2.06.22) - under 16s go free. www.seas.org.uk.
21 June
Dr Bob France on Sarah Wells – The Worst Housekeeper
Methodist Church Hall, Midhurst u3a at 2pm.
Well-known speaker and guide at Uppark and Petworth, Bob France will discuss the mother of H G Wells, who considered her ‘perhaps the worst housekeeper that ever was thought of.’ Uppark’s Sarah Wells didn’t have it easy. Brought up in the New Inn, in Midhurst her diaries tell a story of struggles and hardship: a mostly absent husband, raising her family in poverty and managing Uppark’s – the 17th century house near South Hartling - dysfunctional household. Why did she become the housekeeper there at the age of 60 and was she really as bad as Wells suggest or just an ‘exhausted little woman.’?
£2 entry fee for Midhurst u3a members, £3 for visitors.
www.midhurstu3a.org.uk
24 & 25 June
The Country Brocante Summer Fair at The Meadows Loxwood
Celebrate the Jubilee in ‘Brilliantly British’ style at the traditional Summer Fair in the heart of The Country Brocante antique store’s home county. Filled with white tents, bursting with an array of antiques, vintage finds and curiosities, there’s also a Tea Tent offering a taste of nostalgia from summer fetes of the past along with a cuppa and a slice of Victoria Sponge.
Explore the enchanting Woodlands, filled at every turn with artisans and makers, creative and country craft demonstrations and at the centre, our Woodland Food Village where you can choose from a delicious selection of hot and cold lunches from our independent food vendors. Described as having ‘all the bucolic charm of an English country garden’ this is the perfect day out in the Sussex countryside.
£12.50 - £28
thecountryBrocante.co.uk
Dogs welcome on leads.
