Daily Info's recommended events for the week ahead, Thursday 2nd April - Wednesday 8th April
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With a very long weekend on the calendar, we're taking a break from the EP next Thursday, so this week enjoy a bumper edition with not one, but TWO weeks worth of Springy diversions to start your April!
In case you hadn’t noticed, Easter weekend is upon us! Just a reminder we have an Easter Holiday blog out, giving some suggestions of things to do, including places children eat out free. In addition to that, we can suggest several Easter Egg Hunt Trails: one in Marriott’s Walk shopping centre in Witney, which wends its way through the stores. Pick up an entry form in any of the participating stores, and go hunt those eggs! The Covered Market in Oxford also has an Easter Egg Hunt, plus a special Easter market guide, and updated opening hours. Check out all of those on their website. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that Wicked Chocolate have (and we quote!) “quite possibly one of the most extensive collections of Easter Eggs one could imagine!”.
In our blog we do mention Easter services. If you’re Christian, Easter is a big deal, and even if you’re not, these services offer some beautiful music and time to reflect on the nature of sacrifice, death, resurrection, and love. If that appeals, you are spoilt for choice, but here are a few picks. For a full weekend of services, head to Christ Church Cathedral. Being the city’s top church, despite being inside a college, they are of course offering all the CofE service times and formats. Tonight the Cathedral is open until midnight for The Watch, tomorrow (Good Friday) sees the Passion services, with the altar swathed in purple and statues of Jesus covered, commemorating anguish and sorrow. On Easter Sunday the church celebrates Jesus’ resurrection and all is joy again. Choral Matins at 9.35am and Choral Eucharist at 11.05am see the Cathedral choir in full voice, singing Byrd, Ireland, Mozart and Taverner (that’s old Taverner, not new Taverner).
SSMJ in East Oxford are holding a candlelit vigil on Sat 4th, at 8pm. This service heralds Easter Day, in the way Midnight Mass heralds Christmas Day. There’ll be sacred chant and music. On Easter Day another College invites you in, with a Sung Eucharist at Magdalen College Chapel. There the choir will perform the beautiful double choir Martin Messe plus Handel, Vaughan Williams and plainsong.
Or celebrate with your stomach, at St Frideswide Church, at their Easter Sunday Banquet . Raise funds for the Servery Appeal, while dining on locally-sourced roast lamb or goat’s cheese tart, with trimmings and dessert. There’s even a mini bar!
Giant Easter Egg Hunt: Marriotts Walk Shopping Centre, Witney, OX28 6GW, daily until Sun 12th April, 10am - 5pm. Entry: free.
Easter Services : Christ Church Cathedral, Fri 3rd - Sun 5th April, various times. All free.
Candlelit Easter Vigil: St Mary & St John's Church, Sat 4th April, 8-9pm. Free, everyone welcome.
Sung Eucharist on Easter Day: Magdalen College Chapel, Sun 5th April, 11am. Free, all welcome.
Easter Sunday Banquet: St Frideswide Church, Sun 5th April, 1 - 3pm, £20 (£15 concessions)
It’s April, but there are no fools in this bunch… though we do have talking teapots, singing legends, sockless foxes, thoughtful poetry and queer delights.
We start with two shows very much timed for the Easter Hols. Abingdon Operatic Soc bring Disney to life, with a tale as old as time - that of a thoughtless beast and his nerdy love. Can the prince escape from the enchantress’ spell and learn to love again? With a whole castleful of furniture rooting for them, surely nothing can go wrong for Beauty and the Beast . You’ve already got the tune stuck in your head now, so you have to go! Or if rhymes are more your thing, see Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Tales from Acorn Wood on stage, with puppetry and a lift-the-flap set. Who’s keeping Rabbit awake? Where are Pig and Hen hiding? What is Postman Bear’s surprise? And just where are those pesky socks? Perfect for ages 2-6, and beyond.
Poetry of a different kind comes to the OFS courtesy of Luke Wright’s Later Life Letter . This warm and witty show explores the nuanced and difficult business of honouring the parents who raised you while wanting to know more about your birth mother. It’s honest and painful, funny and silly, as Luke wonders about the other lives he might have led, with drum n bass.
Emergency Cabaret host radical queer performance. It’s political, harnessing your laughter and rage to build a better world. The line-up this time includes Phenix, Jamie Mykaela, Cairo Iman Ali, and Utopia, all hosted by Sweet Amanite. See their website for a positive love letter to accessibility: financial, physical and mental. This cabaret is inclusive AF.
Last but not least - two legends let us into their worlds. Evangeline (Guy Brigg, who also plays all her eccentric companions) traces her rocky career through the West End. She’s survived high kicks, high jinks, bruises and booze, and she’ll tell you all about them in a fast-paced hour! Or there’s Florence Foster Jenkins, a legendary American socialite who wanted to sing and had the money, if not the voice, to make her dream come true. Glorious! follows Florence (Wendi Peters) and her accompanist Cosme with her flamboyant costumes and nerves of steel, as she defies her critics and lives her best life. Prepare your eardrums!
Beauty and the Beast: Amey Theatre, Abingdon, Tue 7th - Sat 11th April, 7.30pm & Sat matinee 2.30pm. Tickets: £14-£20.
Tales from Acorn Wood: Oxford Playhouse, Thu 9th Apr, 1.30pm & Fri 10th April, 10.30am & 1.30pm. Tickets: £19.50, £17.50 children. Suggested age: 2-6.
Luke Wright: Later Life Letter: The Old Fire Station, Sat 11th April, 8pm. Tickets: £10-£20.
Emergency Cabaret: The Nest, Sat 4th April, 7.30pm. Tickets: £5.50-£20 (low income to solidarity+, choose your appropriate level).
Evangeline: Burton Taylor Studio, Wed 15th - Fri 17th April, 7.30pm. Tickets: £12.50 / £10.50 concessions. Age guide 12+.
Glorious!: Oxford Playhouse, Tue 14th - Sat 18th April, 7.30pm & 2.30pm matinee Thu & Sat. Tickets from £15 (£2.75 transaction fee)
This weekend head to Broad Street for the latest edition of Dine N Devour, our very own pop-up street food festival. There’ll be loads of food trucks, including some familiar faces from the weekday markets in Gloucester Green, plus extra guests from around the area. Pop in on your way somewhere, or just browse and graze from one end of Broad St to the other - we won’t judge. There might even be Easter eggs.
Next weekend you’ve got several festivals competing for your attention. Spring is a great time for Folk, especially in Oxford, and Oxford Folk Festival is back with gigs, workshops, dancing, playing, and riotously colourful Morris to conjure the sun, we hope! Tickets are free for some workshops, through to around £25 top price for headline gigs, and there are some very family- and SEN-friendly events. Oxford has quite a big Bal scene, like a ceilidh but originating on mainland Europe. Callers use gender-neutral terms, and everyone is welcome. Venues are widespread - you'll even find folk musicYou might discover a new type of dance ready for May Morning…
Cinephiles should check out the Oxford Shorts Film Fest, taking over St John’s Garden Auditorium. There are 90 short films on a huge range of topics and covering a wide range of moods too! The festival pass is free, but you can pay more and receive merch if you want to support the festival. You must be over 18 to attend screenings, yes even the animated ones, and there are full content warnings in the online programme which gives more info about the festival itself, and which films are nominated for awards.
Last but not least, IRL Events are getting ahead of the game with their Summer Kickoff Fiesta! Head to Manzil Way gardens for some outdoor fun, including a local food truck, DJ tunes and giant lawn games. It’s free and like all of IRL’s events promotes meeting new people in person. We’ll keep all our fingers crossed for sun, and see you there!
Dine 'N' Devour: Broad Street, Oxford, Fri 3rd - Sun 5th April, 10am - 7pm (finishing at 5pm Sun). Free entry.
Oxford Folk Festival: Oxford City Centre (various venues), Fri 10 - Sun 12 April, various times. Prices: free - £25 depending on event.
Oxford Shorts Film Festival: St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium, Thu 9th - Sun 12th April, various times, roughly Thu 7pm - Sun 5pm, plus online films 14th - 18th April. Free entry, merch available to support the festival.
Summer Kickoff Fiesta: Manzil Way Gardens (Cowley Road), Sat 11th April, 2pm – 6pm. Entry: free.
In comedy, we bring you an absolute avalanche of solo shows to satisfy your stand-up cravings, from Fringe darlings to heavy hitters. The big ticket of course is Bridget Christie at the New Theatre, serving up her trademark wry humour with some piping hot Jacket Potato Pizza. Her latest set sees Christie skewering First Ladies and fetishes, bin-cake and kidney trouble.
Then at the Tap Social, Catherine Bohart and comedy duo Britney’s powers combine for an evening of hilarity and charity . Bohart’s award-winning comic sensibilities have graced Live At the Apollo, Mock the Week and A League of Their Own, while Britney’s keen and incisive writing has had them courted by HBO and Netflix. They’ll be raising funds for Missing People’s Charity, which will be supporting a 90km running challenge by Ellie Frank taking place over the London Marathon.
The Old Fire Station hosts stand-up that actually takes a stand with Sami Abu Wardeh’s critically acclaimed Peace de Resistance. Mervyn Stutter’s Spirit of the Fringe award winner last year, Sami uses his ‘defiantly goofy’ style (read: there will be puppets) to unpack his Palestinian heritage and find the funny in fighting the power.
And the following night Sophie Garrad takes up the black box for her one woman show, Poor Little Rich Girl, a biting look at class through a uniquely chaotic lens. Garrad’s childhood has all you’d normally expect from an upper middle-class upbringing; horse-girls, private schools, the prison system - wait, what? Catch her show for the whole mad saga.
And we close with Suzi Ruffell at the Playhouse and a circus act we’ve all done at some point in our lives - The Juggle . Ruffell’s new show examines how to handle life when you’re being pulled every which way by friends, family, partners and children - if you need a night out that doubles as a group therapy session, this might well be the answer.
Bridget Christie -_ Jacket Potato Pizza_: New Theatre, Sun 5th Apr, 7.30pm. Tickets £27.70 - £66.48.
A Night of Comedy and Charity featuring Britney and Catherine Bohart: Tap Social Movement, Tues 7th Apr, 6.30pm doors. Ticket £15.
Sami Abu Wardeh - Peace de Resistance: Old Fire Station, Thurs 9th Apr, 7:30pm. Tickets £10 - 20.
Sophie Garrad - Poor Little Rich Girl: Old Fire Station, Fri 10th Apr, 8pm. Tickets £20.
Suzi Ruffell - The Juggle: Oxford Playhouse, Sat 11th Apr, 7:30pm. Tickets £21.
Between Good Friday and Easter Monday, you may be finding yourself with a few extra hours to spare - why not fill them with a little jaunt to the cinema? Project Hail Mary sees Ryan Gosling in an interstellar race against time to save humanity, with an unlikely ally in tow. It’s already a critical and box office smash, so if you’re a fan of thoughtful sci-fi, time to blast off.
Kids (and nostalgic grown-ups) will be wanting to catch the film adaptation of Enid Blyton’s beloved Magic Faraway Tree series, featuring Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy and Nicola Coughlan in its star-studded cast. From the team behind the surprise hit that was Wonka, this version takes place in the present day, with the Thompson family growing closer to each other as they meet the tree’s colourful residents and travel through the magical worlds that come and go at the top of its branches.
In a sharp tonal shift, They Will Kill You provides a high-octane splatter fest for horror fans as Zazie Beetz makes her way through a hostile high rise of murderous cultists. Look out for talking pig’s heads, human sacrifice and Satanic forces at work - it might not be the most original concept, but its well-executed (pun intended) kills and compelling lead will still grab your attention.
And for the international film enthusiasts, a portrait of a conflicted politician presents itself in La Grazia. Paolo Sorrentino’s latest follows a beleaguered Italian president in his last days in office, grappling with the consequences of a controversial euthanasia bill and the memory of his late wife. Introspective but with a touch of wry humour, it makes for thought-provoking viewing.
Project Hail Mary: Abbey Cinema, Curzon, Oxford Cinema & Cafe, Phoenix Picturehouse, Vue Cinema
The Magic Faraway Tree: Abbey Cinema, Curzon, Phoenix Picturehouse, Vue Cinema
They Will Kill You: Curzon, Vue Cinema
La Grazia: Phoenix Picturehouse, Ultimate Picture Palace
Donate to Oxford Mutual Aid’s emergency crowdfunder! OMA have had to temporarily shut their doors for emergency repairs to their hall. It’s a blow not just to the team but to the many households that rely on OMA for parcel deliveries of food and essentials, and they need help from you so that they can reopen as soon as possible.
Thanks to the generous support of the Oxford community, the crowdfunder has already surpassed its goal, but further donations will ensure extra resources for the team to get back to business after their closure: you can donate via the link here.
Image credits: Covered Market Oxford, Chris Lacey, Oxford Playhouse, LSD Promotions, Natasha Pszenicki, Oxford Mutual Aid
