Theatre and dance

Aardman Animations will be part of the annual Children’s Festival
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Andy Parsons and Aardman Animation join Westy

January 07, 2013

Aldershot’s West End Centre has a lot to offer this spring season.

Featuring big names and masters of their art such as Andy Parsons, The Blockheads, Mark Steel, Geno Washington and Martin Simpson, as well as Aardman Animations and Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre as part of the annual Children’s Festival, spring is also the time to get creative and fulfil a new year’s resolution.

Comedy highlights include Parsons, who warms up for his latest Arena tour with an intimate show on February 6, Robert Newman on January 18, Katherine Ryan on February 2, Peacock and Gamble on February 8, Mark Thomas March 13, Tony Law on March 21, Boothby Graffoe on April 24 and Sean Hughes on May 16, plus BBC Radio 4 favourites Andrew Lawrence on January 25 and Mitch Benn on March 6. The legendary monthly Hecklers Comedy Club is also always a great night out.

Now in its ninth year, the annual Children’s Festival from February 18 to 22 lights up half-term with a packed programme of activities for ages 0 to 12. Aardman Animations’ Senior Model Maker gives a unique insight into their legendary models, including Wallace and Gromit on February 21, alongside two world-class theatre performances: Clydebuilt Theatre’s Rapunzel on February 19 and Norwich Puppet Theatre’s Pied Piper on February 22.

Featuring lots of free events, including the Amazing Art Afternoon on February 20, the festival encourages children to get creative and have fun learning circus skills and joining the brilliant Vegetable Orchestra.

Starting with the rousing anthems of New Riot on January 19 and Eddie and the Hot Rods on January 26, music of all genres, maintains the West End Centre’s reputation as one of the best music venues in the region.

Harmony trio Lady Maisery on January 31 open a stellar line-up of folk music, including BBC Folk award winners Sam Carter on March 27, Chris Wood on April 25 and Martin Simpson on May 15, as well as former Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble exploring the traditional songs of his Scottish homeland on March 20.

Hailed as ‘the Jimi Hendrix of the acoustic guitar’, Antonio Forcione performs songs from new album Sketches of Africa on February 27, while Indian cultural ambassadors The Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan – who have performed for both the Queen and Mick Jagger – arrive in Aldershot on March 7.

The UK’s own resident godfather of soul, Geno Washington, performs a set of classic rhythm and blues on March 2 and rock’n’roll legends The Blockheads play all their hits on April 12. State of the Union (aka blues guitarist Brooks Williams and singer-songwriter Boo Hewerdine) then give a masterclass in roots music on May 24.

Crashlanding also present some of the hottest new indie and rock bands in the country, including Radio 1 favourites The1975 on February 1, lo-fi noise-pop stars The History of Apple Pie on February 9 and Aldershot’s own Our Lost Infantry on March 8.

Innovative, small-scale theatre brings intimate drama to Aldershot throughout the Spring. Black Fish embark upon a tragi-comic journey into the unknown, inspired by the comedy genius of Monty Python and Kneehigh Theatre, in Alaska on February 13. Edinburgh Fringe smash-hit The Girl with the Iron Claws retells a dark coming-of-age fairytale on May 2 and the award-winning The Trench blends puppetry and live music to tell the story of one-man’s epic struggle for survival in World War One on May 8.

Disabled children are invited to shape the action in Claytime on February 2 and younger theatre audiences can join The Gardener on March 16 in a funny and heart-warming play about friendship and memory.

The Hip-Yak Poetry Shack takes place on March 28 and World Book Night is celebrated on April 23.

Workshops and classes for all ages include new courses for teenagers, in sewing, pottery, drawing and drama, as well as Easy Squeezy Nepalesey, to learn basic Nepalese.

Also new are three mini courses, run over four weeks – Strawberry Pots Forever, Make Do & Mend and Willow Weaving – and two workshops studying the publishing industry. The popular Forever Young classes continue, affording parents and their children some quality time together to get creative, including a ‘Dads and Lads’ class making fossils and footprints.

As always, the life drawing, pottery, stained glass, sewing and wonderful Westy Community Choir classes are also bound to prove very successful.

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