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The Olivier Theatre

Friday 1 May 7.30pm

BEDALES DANCE PERFORMS

The development of Dance from an initial GCSE course, through to AS and now to full A level, has been a great success story. The Department has also developed its own imaginative pre-A level course as part of the Bedales Assessed Course initiative, replacing the traditional GCSE. In a fitting celebration, we now present the first Bedales Dance show for the Theatre. The evening will feature BAC Dance students’ final choreography along with the A level Dance exam pieces. It is a welcome opportunity to share this work with a wider audience.

Free tickets

Tuesday 5 May 7.30pm

Eckersley Lecture

THE GENIUS OF MICHAEL FARADAY

Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas FRS FREng One of the UK’s most distinguished scientists and academics delivers a highly accessible account of a towering figure from the nineteenth century.

Free tickets

Friday 8 May 7.30pm

PRECARIOUS

The Factory

This is theatre for the 21st Century– bold, experimental, brimming with ideas and an assault on the senses. This is challenging, risk taking theatre, disturbing, loud, confrontational, pushing boundaries and bodies and creating work on an epic, industrial scale. The Stage

The merging of Precarious Dance Theatre and Future State Theatre led to a fusion of dance and design with theatre and technology. Creating virtual images that appear to float like apparitions in mid-air, Precarious produce magical illusions with which the live performers can seamlessly interact, creating a hybrid spectacle that is innovative... imaginative...intelligent… (The Scotsman) and is guaranteed to baffle and astonish!

A tremendous piece of multimedia work, the video components of the show are among the most impressive I have seen in years. The Financial Times

www.precarious.org.uk

£9 / £7 conc.

Friday 15 May 8pm

Jazz Series

MEIER GROUP

Gilad Atzmon – saxophone, clarinet
Laurence Lowe – drums
Pat Bettison – bass
Nicolas Meier – acoustic guitars, glissentar & baglama

...Last night brilliant Swiss Guitarist Nick Meier charged through Turkish influenced originals as if the house was burning down, to a warm reception from an uninitiated and unprepared crowd. The music communicated at such a level, everyone forgot they were uninitiated and unprepared, and just got into it. Excellent. Bill Bruford

Now London-based, Berklee-trained Swiss guitarist Nicolas Meier is one of the rising stars of a vibrant British jazz scene. Along with traditional guitar, Meier plays a Godin Glissentar, modelled after the North African oud, and a baglama, whose Turkish origins add to the exotic flavourings of this music.

Having settled in London, the synthesis he sought of European culture and American 'drive', he met drummer Asaf Sirkis (here recently with John Law's Trio). Asaf helped to open his ears to Middle-Eastern music and introduced him to phenomenal Israeli saxophonist Gilad Atzmon, making a belated first appearance at Bedales. Gilad returns in September with his fine new Charlie Parker project.

UPDATE 29 APRIL - we regret that Gilad Atzmon has had to withdraw from this engagement at short notice but we're delighted that Dave O'Higgins will be the magnificent substitute.

Dave O'Higgins has been described by BBC Music Magazine as 'A world class player' and elsewhere in the national press as 'one of Britain's finest contemporary jazz musicians'. He has recorded several solo albums and has played, toured and/or recorded with musicians as diverse as the BBC Big Band, Frank Sinatra, Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, the Clark Tracey Sextet and Jamie Cullum. In one review critic Sholto Byrnes muses on whether O'Higgins realises how good he is…"When it comes to bop of any kind, on either soprano or tenor saxophones, he is, live, one of our few world class players, capable of holding his own with the Americans. O'Higgins wouldn't be out of place standing in for Bob Berg in a line up of Steps Ahead that included Jeff 'Tain' Watts and Joey Calderazzo. I hope he does take that place some day, because if he doesn't swim with the big fish he might not realise that he's one of them, too."

www.meiergroup.com

£9 / £7 conc.

Thursday 21 May 7.30pm

LAMDA PERFORMANCES

A Talent to Amuse?

Perhaps a little more than mere amusement is offered as Bedales' LAMDA drama students perform a selection of their exam pieces – extracts from plays as diverse as Pygmalion, As You Like It, An Inspector Calls, His Dark Materials and many more.

Free tickets

Tuesday 2 June 7.30pm

SO & SO CIRCUS THEATRE

The Hot Dots

Frank Johnstone and Evie Steele met in 1928. This is the story of the two hugely successful vaudeville performers and their spectacular fall from grace. Featuring So & So's trademark acrobatic balancing and a fantastic story set against the backdrop of 1930s Music Hall, this show is a real one-off treat.

It's clever and funnyand poignant but the main thing is that it's really entertaining!
Liz Aratoon, circus critic of The Stage.

www.soandsocircus.com

£9 / £7 conc.

Sat 27 June 2.30pm, Mon 29 & Tues 30 7.30pm

Bedales Junior Play

William Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams.

gender conflict hunting savagery panic enticed ritualistic tribal mystic identity death manhunt smoke fire survival hunted

Lord of the Flies explores the dark side of humanity - the savagery that might underlie even the most civilized of human beings. A cast of students from the first two years at Bedales combine to bring you a symbolic, experimental account of Williams’ stage adaptation of this modern classic - a frightening, energetic and brutal piece of theatre to push your senses and emotions to the extreme.

Free tickets

NOTE Sat 27 June performance is given for Parents’ Day guests. Not suitable for those under eleven years - parental guidance advised for 11 - 13s.

Contact for ticket bookings

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