Echoes of the Front Room Exposed!

A drammend exhibition of the Caribbean culture during the Windrush Season.

The Voice of Vision Community Project (VOVCP) would like to introduce Echoes of the Front Room, a drama based on the West Indian (WI) migration experience. The WI migration brought about a transformation of the Caribbean culture and mind-set. A culture that lives on today – through the new generations – in an alternative space that is Great Britain.

The idea for producing this performance was born from the desire to celebrate the experience of members of our society that helped pave the way for the new generation, creating opportunities and improving cultural identity.

In the play we meet Essie, who is an original migrant here in Britain, raising her granddaughter Marie. Essie sees her front room as a status symbol, a sacred place to be revered, a hub of the community’s woes and joys, a culmination of her hard work on the streets of England. Maries doesn’t know what the big deal is, and this clash of identity provides both hilarious and poignant moments.

We also-meet Sister Millingham, aka ‘Daphne’. We follow the twists, turns and scandals of her family – what’s really going on when her brother-in-law turns up from Jamaica? All will be revealed in the Front Room!

Participation pack and refreshments will be on sale.

*Concession tickets apply to those 15 and under / 70 and over

Asteroid City (12A)

Asteroid City takes place in a fictional American desert town circa 1955.

The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.

“An enrapturing cosmic comedy” Independent ★★★★★

Times ★★★★ Empire ★★★★ Guardian ★★★★ Telegraph ★★★★

Directed by Wes Anderson
With Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks
1hr 45 mins // US 2023

Lace City Chorus

“A celebration of barbershop a cappella”

Join Lace City Chorus, the 2023 UK barbershop a cappella champions! The chorus will be joined by participants of their recent 4 week learn-to-sing course Do Something For You.

There will also be two special guests in the form of  Nottingham’s Major Oak Chorus and the Notivation Quartet.

ROH Live: Das Rheingold (12A)

When a precious hoard of gold is stolen from the river Rhine, it unleashes a chain of destructive events, pitting gods and mortals against one another for generations. Wagner’s Ring cycle boasts some of the greatest music ever written for the opera stage. Join us as we embark on a spectacular journey into the world of myth, dream and memory, with the figure of Erda Mother Earth herself at its centre. Antonio Pappano conducts Barrie Kosky’s bold new imagining of Wagner’s Das Rheingold which marks the start of a new Ring cycle for The Royal Opera with an outstanding cast including Christopher Maltman (Wotan) and Christopher Purves (Alberich).

OPERA
Music – Wagner
Conductor – Antonio Pappano

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: 70th Anniversary (U)

These glamorous showgirls have everything a girl could want – except engagement rings. In a quest for true love, Lorelei and her gold digger pal Dorothy set sail on a luxury-liner bound for France. But the pair hits rocky waters when a manipulative detective, an over-aged, over sexed millionaire and the entire men’s Olympic team try to put an anchor in their marriage-minded mischief.

A wonderful chance to catch this musical classic on the big screen to mark its 70th Anniversary!

“Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell make a fantastic double act in Howard Hawks’s sparkling 1953 comedy” Guardian ★★★★★

Directed by Howard Hawks
With Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn
1hr 31 mins // 1953

Catch-up Screenings: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (12A)

Starring Academy Award® Winner Jim Broadbent as Harold and Penelope Wilton as his wife Maureen, The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry tells the story of a man who leaves his seaside town in South Devon to deliver a message to an old friend.

Harold Fry was never meant to be a hero. He’s an unremarkable man who has failed at all the important things: being a husband, a father and a friend. Now, well into his 60s, he is content to fade quietly into the background of life. But when Harold learns his friend Queenie is dying, he is moved to act. He leaves home, walking to the post box to send her a letter, until he realises a letter is not enough.

In that moment Harold decides to keep walking, all the way to her hospice, some 500 miles away in Berwick-upon-Tweed: as long as he walks, Queenie must live. Surprising himself as much as his wife Maureen, Harold embarks on a walk of hope, determined to travel the length of England to save his friend.

“Jim Broadbent’s improbable, rewarding odyssey across England” Telegraph ★★★

Directed by Hettie Macdonald
With Jim Broadbent, Penelope Wilton
1hr 48 mins // UK 2023

Jazz in the Bar w/ Joanna Hudson

We have had so many requests for Joanna to return to Jazz in the Bar that she’s back by popular demand!

The musical combination of Joanna’s expressive vocals and her father Bob’s arranging and piano playing skills has long been one of the most potent on the local scene. Choosing her material from the best of classic jazz and standard songs, Joanna delivers a polished performance every time.

The trio has performed with a galaxy of UK and American jazz musicians including Scott Hamilton, Karen Sharp and Spike Robinson.

Bob is on piano with Steve Truman’s accomplished bass playing and Clive Loveday’s subtle but swinging drums.

Expect an evening of toe tapping finger snapping jazz…

Greatest Days: The Take That Musical (12A)

Greatest Days is the feel-good and universal story of love and friendship featuring the hit songs of Take That and adapted from the smash stage show by the writer of Calendar Girls.

We follow five best friends who have the night of their lives seeing their favourite boy band in concert. Twenty-five years later their lives have changed in many different ways as they reunite for one more epic show by their beloved band, to relight their friendship and discover that maybe their greatest days are ahead of them.

Take That musical offers blast of feelgood reunion excitement” Guardian ★★★

Independent ★★★ Radio Times ★★★

Directed by Coky Giedroyc
With Aisling Bea
1hr 52 mins // UK 2023

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (PG)

Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Spider-Verse saga, an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man across the multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.

“In every possible universe, and every interpretation, this slaps.” Little White Lies ★★★★★

“Visually astonishing, emotionally powerful, narratively propulsive — it’s another masterpiece” Empire ★★★★★

Independent ★★★★  Metro ★★★★

Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson
Voiced by Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld
2hrs 15 mins TBC // US 2023

Double Bill: The Wicker Man (50th Anniversary 4K Restoration) + Midsommar (18)

Widely regarded as one of the best British horror films, The Wicker Man very nearly sank into obscurity shortly after being made. The story concerns a devout Christian police officer’s journey to a remote Scottish island to investigate the case of a missing child. He instead finds a community that has renounced Christianity in favour of pagan fertility rites.

The second part of our double bill will be Ari Aster’s modern folk-horror masterpiece Midsommar.

“A magnificent folk-horror tale” Guardian ★★★★★

Wicker Man: The Final Cut (50th Anniversary 4K Restoration)
Directed by Robin Hardy
With Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland

Midsommar
Directed by Ari Aster
With Florence Pugh

*The bar will be offering half-priced bottles of Swedish Rekorderlig Cider for this event