Clacton & North East Essex

Arts & Literary Society

‘MONDAY NIGHTS AT THE PRINCES THEATRE’ 

Programme for 2009/10 Season

1st Half
19th October 2009 London Festival Opera will present a highlight performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, staged in full costume, sung in English and accompanied by piano and flute, which will be followed by a programme of popular opera and operetta arias featuring the works of Verdi, Bizet, Strauss and Gilbert and Sullivan.  London Festival Opera brings together established artists from the major British opera companies and exceptional young singers. 

26th October 2009 ‘Which home is it tonight’? Life, death & a cyclone on the island of Mauritius.  Hallam, Carole and Quin Murray (aged 3 ½) visited the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius where they were the first to circumnavigate the island on mountain bicycles with a young child.   Caught by a scale 2 cyclone, this turned into something more of an adventure than they had bargained for!  Power Point presentation.

Evening sponsored by Fred. Olsen Travel Shop

2nd November 2009 An Audience with Simon Weston the distinguished Falklands War survivor.  A chance to spend time in the company of a hero who won over the hearts and minds of the country with his irrepressible humour, infectious enthusiasm and engaging personality.  Following his injuries, Simon's road to physical, spiritual and mental recovery saw him active in a number of highly successful ventures. His charitable work earned him an OBE in the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours. He was also awarded Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2002 in recognition of his bravery and his charity work in the region.

Evening sponsored by Coronation Toyota

9th November 2009 The Oxford Players with ‘Classical Music and all that Jazz’.  Top quality musical entertainment with a difference.  World class musicians will take you on a light-hearted journey through centuries of classical music in this fantastic programme.  There is also a soprano who scats and a pianist who does everything there is to be done with a piano, both inside and out!

Evening sponsored by CountyWide Lettings

16th November 2009 An Evening of ‘Antiques Antics’ with Eric Knowles.  Eric is one of those rare individuals who are able to share his extensive knowledge of the world of antiques in a manner that is easily understood.  The lad from Lancashire takes the wraps off a business in which he has been immersed for over 30 years giving, what is quite often irreverent anecdotal reminiscences, ably supported by excellent images.

Evening sponsored by Thompson, Smith & Puxon

23rd November 2009 Chaconne Brass is perhaps one of the most flexible ensembles in the country.  Its unique combination of innovation, musicianship and pure entertainment has kept Chaconne at the forefront of British musical life for nearly a quarter of a century.  Their repertoire ranges from pieces written especially for the group through to attractive arrangements of classical, jazz and popular tunes for brass quintet.  They engage their audience and carry them along on a roller coaster of a musical journey.

Evening sponsored by West Cliff Theatre

30th November 2009 ‘Winter in Majorca’ – A portrait of Frederic Chopin by Michael Lunts.  Michael performs a unique combination of drama and classical music in his dramatic portrayal of Chopin’s stay in a monastery on the island of Majorca with his lover, the writer George Sand.  The set recreates the monastic cell in which the lovers stayed, while light, sound and live music conjure up the atmosphere of this strange interlude in the composer’s life.

Evening sponsored by Essex theatre & Leisure club

7th December 2009 Join us for ‘Christmas in Kilts’ by Caledon, those powerful Scottish Tenors.
To include Christmas Favourites and Festive Hits.  A show to stir the Highland Spirit lurking deep within you all!  Three Divine Voices - One Awesome Sound.

Evening sponsored by Princes Theatre

Clacton & North East Essex Arts & Literary Society

Programme for 2009/10 Season

2nd Half

11th January 2010 Christopher Langdown is bring us an evening of piano classics with ‘Beethoven and Beyond’.  Christopher has been widely acclaimed as both a soloist and chamber musician.  He graduated with Distinction from the Royal College of Music in London after completing six years of study.  Christopher was nominated at the RCM to perform the music of Shostakovich and was further distinguished in being twice selected by The Wall Trust as a piano scholar of “outstanding talent”.

18th January 2010 ‘Intrepid Tales of a modern day plant hunter – A Horticulturally endowed tale’!  In 2000 the plantsman Tom Hart Dyke was kidnapped by guerrillas in the notorious Darien Gap, on the border of Panama and Colombia, while hunting for wild orchids. He and a companion, Paul Winder, were held captive for more than nine months. Since his release, Tom has created a World Garden of Plants at his home, Lullingstone Castle in Kent, which is run by his parents.  The house was the subject of a BBC2 documentary series.  Illustrated talk.

Evening sponsored by Norman & Neill Opticians

25th January 2010 Mark O’Shea, Blood, Sweat & Snakebites, The making of  ‘O’Shea’s Big Adventure’.  Mark, veteran field herpetologist of over 60 expeditions and filming trips to the tropics, is your guide as he explains the film making process, the problems of seeking out and filming wild animals in remote locations, the excitement when the elusive quest species is found, the disappointment when things go wrong.   Illustrated with vivid Power Point images and amusing anecdotes.

Evening sponsored by Tendring Reuse & Employment Enterprise

1st February 2010 The Tim Kliphuis Quartet.  Dutchman Tim Kliphuis ranks among the world's finest jazz violinists. He has often been named the successor of Stéphane Grappelli, taking his legacy into the 21st Century by infusing Gypsy Swing with Folk and Classical music. Tim’s spirit and style are reminiscent of the late, great jazz fiddler virtuoso playing with a great love for melody. A violinist classically trained at the Amsterdam Conservatoire Tim is joined on the piano by Dave Newton who is one of the leading international jazz pianists and seven-time winner of the British Jazz awards and a Fellow of Leeds College of Music.

Evening sponsored by Leslie Barlow Funeral Directors

8th February 2010 Big Band Singer Matthew Ford Celebrates the Great Singers in ‘A Tribute to the Swing Legends’. Join Matthew and his band as they perform the hits of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Matt Monro, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and other great popular singers. The show is packed full of songs back-to-back, with brief and informative introductions to the songs and the singers that made them famous.

Evening sponsored by Michael and Julie Payne

15th February 2010 Sir Jonathan Miller, CBE is a British theatre and opera director, neurologist, author, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. He first came to prominence in 1962 when his British comedy stage revue Beyond the Fringe came to Broadway. He has since become one of the world's leading opera directors with several classic productions to his credit. Along the way he has also become a well known and engaging television personality and familiar public intellectual in both the UK and the US.

Evening sponsored by GCS Alarms Ltd

22nd February 2010 Television presenter, photographer, traveller and wildlife expert Chris Packham takes us on a fascinating journey through the eye of his camera.  Chris is an experienced photographer and throughout his travels and expeditions he has collected thousand of images of the people, places and creatures he has seen.  This illustrated talk is for photographers, travellers and of course wildlife enthusiasts.

Evening sponsored by Mark's Mobility Centre

1st March 2010 Join us for a ‘A Feast of Song’ with Soprano Ros Evans, Baritone Owen Webb, Tenor Peter Wilman, Mezzo-Soprano Kate Woolveride and Pianist Sharon Richards.  Five outstanding artists present a wonderfully varied programme of your favourite solos, duets and quartets including operatic arias, songs from the shows and piano solos from their superb accompanist.

Evening sponsored by Boydens (Estate Agent)

THE PROGRAMME, AS ALWAYS, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES OUTSIDE THE SOCIETYʼS CONTROL