Attention... ! Your attention please...The police, theatres and members of the public are here by warned to be vigilant and on the look out for two men dressed in black hats, black ties and sunglasses. Otherwise known as The Blues Brothers. Yes folks...They’re back and on a mission! Direct from a residency in Chicago and a national tour of the USA.

PriscillaQueen of the Desert theatre tour. Sneak a Peek Behind the Magic... The New Theatre Tours offer an exciting way to see the theatre from a truly unique perspective. Tread the boards of our prestigious stage and experience what your favourite performance from stage, screen and the music world enjoy every time they visit.
 
Tours start at 10.30am and last around one and a half hours. They take you on an exciting journey around the backstage areas, including our haunted dressing room, historic sub-stage revolve and, of course, on to our vast and momentous stage.

After mesmerising audiences at the Edinburgh Festival with her new show ‘Feel’ this fierce and sultry chanteuse returns for one night only. Expect fire, ice, joy and pure passion. Chameleon-like on stage, Camille transforms each song – with its own unique story – into an intense theatrical experience, drawing her audience into a world illuminated by the dark and the light. Camille O’Sullivan enjoys a formidable international reputation for her dramatic and amusing interpretations of the songs of Brel, Cave, Waits, Bowie and more.

Bringing some of the very best music to Banbury! Banbury Symphony Orchestra brings together local musicians and audiences to experience the music and the unique thrill of involvement with a full symphony orchestra.
Orchestra members range from professional players and music teachers to enthusiastic and committed local players.

For our spring 2013 concerts, Cantores brings together four composers with very individual views of religion, and whose spiritual convictions permeate their music.

For our spring 2013 concerts, Cantores brings together four composers with very individual views of religion, and whose spiritual convictions permeate their music.

William Byrd remains one of our greatest composers. Here, his solemn lenten music is delivered with impeccable craftsmanship and heartfelt expression. This group’s complete Byrd choral recordings have won it an unprecedented number of Gramophone awards. The atmosphere and acoustic of St Barnabas in Jericho are perfect for this penitential seasonal music.

Andrew Carwood director
William Byrd Mass for four voices, Propers for Easter, Haec dies [a 6 1591], Holy Saturday Vespers, In exituu Israel, Angelus Domini, Mane vobiscum, Post dies Octo, Deus in adjutorium.

The myth of Odysseus’ epic journey was ancient when Homer committed it to writing. Almost three thousand years later the stories still echo through our narrative memory. They are tales of famous heroes and villains; Athena, Zeus and the Cyclops, and those you might not know yet; six-headed Scylla, the whirlpool Charybdis and the lethargic Lotus-Eaters.

Benson Choral Society was established in 1949 in Benson and now has a membership drawn from a wide area including Wallingford, Dorchester, Watlington and the villages around. Its conductor is Christopher Walker, and he and the choir welcome new members without audition. There are three major performances a year normally in Dorchester Abbey. www.dorchester-abbey.org.uk.

Vaughan Williams - Toward the Unknown Region
Poulenc - Gloria
Elgar - The Music Makers
Saturday March 31st 2012
Dorchester Abbey

The wonderful Gonzo Moose are back and it’s 1792 – Revolution grips Paris. The secret police march traitors to their deaths. Everyone is a suspect. Paris needs a hero who can restore freedom and justice. Inspired by the legend of the Scarlet Pimpernel, this spoof historical epic is packed with hilarious slapstick, irreverent humour, magical illusion and death-defying French accents.

Gonzo Moose presents
I’m an Aristocrat, Get Me Out Of Here!

Thursday 29 March 2011 7.30pm

£14, £12.50 (concs), £11.50 members

Banbury Symphony Orchestra brings together local musicians and audiences to experience the music and the unique thrill of involvement with a full symphony orchestra. Orchestra members range from professional players and music teachers to enthusiastic and committed local players.

Regular members of our audience know that they will experience something special at each one of our concerts. Newcomers to our concerts are consistently impressed with the quality of our performances. We bring the best of the symphony orchestra repertoire to the heart of Banburyshire!

Back by popular demand a performance by Collegium Regale Choral Scholars of King's College Cambridge at St Mary's Church Adderbury. All funds raised in aid of Katharine House Hospital and will benefit nursing care.

Hear local soprano Louise Woodgate perform a selection of arias with the Burford Orchestra, in a programme including works by Verdi, Puccini and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Burford Orchestra is based and rehearses in Witney, West Oxfordshire. Since the Autumn term 2010 we have been delighted to welcome Jonny Timms as our principal conductor, and we are delighted he will be conducting us for our Spring concert 2012.

With music in mind - ESO appeal to fund music DVD for people with dementia. As part of its work in local communities, The English Symphony Orchestra raises funds to send small groups from within it to perform concerts in local care homes and hospices. Partly as a result of the musicians own experiences of these very moving events, and partly in response to demand from the care homes, ESO will be filming a live concert to be given at Croome Court on March 27th by the different ensembles that take part.

Young Goldilocks likes to explore the world and experience new things. This time, when she wanders into an empty house, she finds much more than three bowls of porridge…But what will happen when the Bears return and find her? Using table-top puppetry and musical influences from around the world, this production brings this classic story to life and adds some special twists.

Tickets: All Tickets £8.50

Suitable for Ages 2+

Saturday 31 March, 11.30am, 2.30pm

Jubilate performs a diverse range of music, sacred and secular, delighting audiences throughout the UK and in Europe. Our concerts can range from intimate recitals of unaccompanied singing to larger-scale works with guest soloists and chamber orchestra.  Our Christmas extravaganza, The Joy of Christmas, is an annual crowd-pleaser with guest choirs, orchestra, readings and carols galore, with the occasional bag piper!

Under the direction of Ian Higginson, Jubilate Chamber Choir is one of Gloucestershire's leading chamber choirs. 

Coronation Anthem “I was glad” (Parry); Coronation Mass (Mozart); Three Songs of Praise (Dyson); The Mission Chorales (George Martin).

Making a much welcomed return to Oxford, the international prize-winning Sitkovetsky Trio, formed in 2007, is now recognised as one of today’s outstanding ensembles. Mozart: Trio no 2 in C K.548, Mendelssohn: Trio no. 2 in C minor opus 66, Brahms: Trio in C minor opus 101

Green transport: comparing petrol and diesel vehicles with their electric and hybrid rivals.

In November 2009, eight performers from award winning theatre company New International Encounter (NIE) embarked on a 3500 mile voyage across the Atlantic Ocean aboard a cargo ship. With the help of Icelandic novelist, poet and Björk lyricist Sjón, their experiences on the voyage are delicately intertwined with seafaring tales from around the world. If you liked Keepers, Borges & I, or are a world traveller, you’ll love this colourful, often hilarious international production.

Tickets: Adults £13, Concessions £11

Verdi’s tragic story of joy, sorrow, passion, regret and undying loyalty is grippingly told in Kit Hesketh- Harvey’s new adaptation. In the cultural melting-pot of East London’s galleries, clubs and cafés, burlesque artiste Violetta is the reigning queen, adored by everyone from barristers to baristas. But she’s hiding a fearful secret as is the young City Slicker she falls in love with...

Groups 4 to 8 of the Chipping Norton Youth Theatre will come together on two nights to show you some examples of the things they do in their weekly sessions. In a series of devised pieces, they will hope to entertain, amuse and move you using their range of dramatic skills.

Tickets: Adults £5, Concessions £2

Julian Smith’s distinctive soprano saxophone sound has been heard all over the world on Sony’s Classic Chillout Series, under his previous stage name ‘Joolz Gianni’. He became better known after achieving runner up in the 2009 series of Britain’s Got Talent with 700,000 telephone votes and millions of YouTube views. Since the show he has been invited to play for the Prime Minister and even played for Prince Charles.

Tickets: Adults £15, Concessions £13

Don’t miss this opportunity to see some of the world’s most talented young dancers. An exciting programme of ballet, contemporary, jazz and narrative dance will also feature live accompaniment. Featuring new works from Rambert Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Theatre and Ballet Central’s founder, the late Christopher Gable.

Once again it is Festival Time. We have put together a programme which we hope will entertain you and your family. As has now become a regular pattern most of the events are by local groups and artists putting on events specially for the Festival. The programme reminds us of the wealth of talent to be found locally.