fromefestival.co.uk 1 FRIDAY 6 JULY WITH THANKS TO: WELCOME TO THE 18TH FROME FESTIVAL Patron: Morag McLaren Welcome to the We’d like to thank Frome Town Council and all our Founder and President: Martin Bax MBE 18th Frome Festival. generous sponsors for their support. Special thanks Vice Presidents: Rt Hon David Heath CBE, John Birkett-Smith Once again we have to our volunteers who work hard for many months to Chairman: Dr Robert Morris Treasurer: Margaret Perry been inundated achieve the sponsorship, run the Festival Friends, our Creative Director: Martin Dimery with applications to volunteer stewards, and the Board of Directors who Board of Trustees / Directors of Frome Festival Ltd: perform or present oversee the organisation year round. My personal Theresa Clark, Dr Robert Morris, Dara O’Hare, Gail Norris, Simon Norris, Gavin Rea, Dr Mick Randall, Roger Southard, work this year. It’s thanks also to Bev Jones, Margaret Perry and Tracey Hugh Deed, Dr Rick Rycroft, Jeremy Towler, Karen Ogborn. always hard selecting Rawlins, our compact professional team, who work so Festival Administrator/Marketing: Beverly Jones events, but we are effectively in the limited time they have throughout Workshops and Food Feast Co-ordinator: Tracey Rupp Rawlins greatly indebted to the year to maintain the Frome Festival under the The Sponsorship Team: Marjorie Morris, Suzanne Cooke, Gavin Rea, Dr Rick Rycroft those who run Frome’s superb Chairmanship of Dr. Bob Morris. The Stewarding Team: Theresa Clark, Paul Hewitt © Chris Bailey 2018 fantastic venues for Website: stellasoft.co.uk organising much of Martin Dimery, Creative Director Printers: Avon Printing Services Ltd. the programme. The Merlin Theatre, Cooper Hall, Design: blackinkstudio.co.uk The Silk Mill, The Memorial Theatre, Rook Lane Arts, Cover and Poster Illustration: Sholto Walker www.myportfolio.com/sholtowalker The Black Swan and the Cheese and Grain directors Photography: Frome Wessex Camera Club and staff have all been busy helping to make this line-up perhaps the best ever. Also Trinity Church, With Special Thanks to: Christ Church and St. John’s are all opening their Frome Town Council, our sponsors, event organisers doors for some terrific concerts, shows and talks. and venues. Pubs and cafes also get involved offering many free performances over the course of the ten days. The Festival wishes to thank Mercer Design and PPS Commercial Print for their generous support of Frome’s Hidden Gardens. Our job in the Festival office is to add a significant number of promotions of our own choosing, and work with organisers to add in walks, talks, exhibitions and workshops. We are grateful to those who run the Open Studios, Hidden Gardens, Frome Writers Collective on behalf of the Festival and the numerous other volunteers and local organisations who take part. Many of our presentations are engendered by local contributors and feature Frome-based talents which helps to generate the excitement and sense of participation that make the Frome Festival so special. Charity no: 1120329 Mozart’s Bastien & Bastienne / Bach’s Coffee Cantata 2 Frankenstein Must be Destroyed / Event 1015 INSIDE... 04 - 33 Festival Events 34 - 39 Workshops 40 - 43 Visual Arts & Exhibitions 44 - 49 Information / Booking Form 50 Map 51 Venues & Places Blazin Fiddles + Captain Cactus & The Screaming Harlots / Event 821 OVERTURE SUNDAY 1 JULY // 18:00 – 19:00 CHORAL EVENSONG AT CHRIST SATURDAY 30 JUNE // 19:30 – 21:30 CHURCH : BICENTENARY CELEBRATIONS GIPPESWYK SINGERS: SUMMER Consecrated in September 1818, Christ Church was CONCERT TOUR built for the poor people of Frome, who couldn’t The Gippeswyk Singers are a 40-strong chamber afford to pay pew rent. Music will include S S Wesley’s choir from Ipswich. Under their inspirational epic Evening Service in E, hymns “Jerusalem” and conductor Geoff Lavery, tonight will be the “O praise ye the Lord” by Charles Hubert Hastings world premiere of the ethereal ‘An Abundance of Parry (1848-1918), and two settings of poems by Blessings’ for baritone, choir and harp written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: first performance of “The chorister Brian Latchem. Three Choruses from St Human Cry”, music by Ann Burgess, Director of John Passion (J S Bach) and Bob Chilcott’s ‘Little Music at Christ Church; and to commemorate the Jazz Mass’ are highlights. In aid of Frome Food end of WW1, Parry’s beautiful and reflective anthem, Bank and Christchurch. “Crossing the bar”. Retiring collection. Christ Church // £10.00 // Event 1 Christ Church // FREE // Event 2 Mozart’s Bastien & Bastienne / Bach’s Coffee Cantata 5 Opera Double Bill / Event 1420 3 events FRIDAY 6 JULY flavours of Moorish Spain on your way to an event or 19:00 - 23:00 FRIDAY 6 JULY make it a festival event in its own right. Family friendly, FROM PERU TO YOU PRESENT: ‘LET’S table football, ping-pong, BBQ and music! DANCE’ WITH DON KIPPER The Silk Mill // Event 605 Don Kipper are a multi award-winning 7-piece 10.15 - 11.45 ensemble playing a wide range of traditional musical FROME GREAT WAR COMMEMORATION 19:00 - 20:30 forms reflecting the cultural diversity of North East WALK BOB FOSSE ‘ALL THAT JAZZ’ DANCE London, from Turkish and Greek Folk Music to Romani Meet at 10:15 in St John’s Forecourt – short WORKSHOP music and Klezmer. From 7pm the ‘From Peru to introduction by Dr Jim Clipson followed by guided See Workshops section page 34 for details. You’ team will have an open buffet for an additional walk around the Great War graves of Frome. Starts Masonic Hall // £10.00 // Event 606 £10.00, bringing foreign flavours together to celebrate at 10:30, approx 75 minutes. food from around the world. Dips, salads, rice dishes, Frome // FREE // Event 602 19:00 - 20:00 skewers, beans, slow cooked lamb, steamed fish, THE TROJAN WAR – MYTH & HISTORY - chicken curry, vegan curry, and more. 11:00 - 17:00 PROF MICHAEL WOOD Assembly Rooms // £20.00 // Event 609 HIDDEN GARDENS Prof Michael Wood will be returning to Frome A longstanding and popular linchpin of the Frome after his sell-out talk in 2016. One of the UK’s best Festival, this is your annual chance to have a peek into loved historians and broadcasters, and author the wide variety of Frome gardens that are normally of numerous popular history books including ‘In hidden from public view. As always there will be some the footsteps of Alexander the Great’, ‘In Search new gardens as well as old favourites. Gardens to see of Shakespeare’ and ‘The Story of England’, he will include the large, small, fully mature and even wild. For take us on a compelling and fascinating journey full details see feature on page 44. examining the myth and history of the Trojan War. Frome // £5.00 // Event 603 Rook Lane Chapel // £14.00 // Event 607 14:00 - 18:00 19:00 - 23:00 COFFEE, CAKE, POT OR PAINT ASTON MERRYGOLD See Workshops section page 34 for details. Aston Merrygold sold millions worldwide as part of Enigma Pottery // Event 604 the mega boy band JLS, as well as receiving two Brit and 5 Mobo Awards. Aston received international Event 608 / 17:00 - 23:00 acclaim with his debut single “Get Stupid”, leading THE HIGH PAVEMENT FIESTA TAPAS BAR to performances on James Corden’s “Late Late Frome favourite - The High Pavement - is hosting a Show” in the US, and guesting on X Factor. He was Moorish inspired café/bar on the Silk Mill’s sun terrace also a contestant on the last series of “Strictly for the duration of the festival. Expect delicious sharing Come Dancing”. His first solo appearances on “The plates, ice cold sherries, Spanish beers and cocktails, Precious Tour” last year were instant sell-outs. Ashton Merrygold Ashton Catalonian cava and a fiesta atmosphere! Enjoy the Cheese & Grain // £22.00 // Event 608 4 FRIDAY 6 JULY Box Office 01373 455420 // fromefestival.co.uk 19:30 - 23:30 20:00 - 22:00 based Linda Kitchen has changed her own pants to SWEET MACHINE & LAUGH CLAUDE BOURBON, MEDIEVAL become writer and director of this unique performance CLOWN LAUGH & SPANISH BLUES piece. It takes two to tango and Cherubino needs Original live Synth-pop music from Sweet Machine & Claude Bourbon takes in different flavours of his Susanna in this fun and poignant romp with two Laugh Clown Laugh, with DJ support. With a diverse Europe and beyond, fusing every conceivable genre international professional singers accompanied by range of influences, Sweet Machine fuse 70s / 80s of acoustic guitar music into a master-class stage piano. Join Linda for a 20 minute pre-show talk followed synth with 90s dance & bittersweet lyrics to create performance. His Spanish medieval blues evolves by the performance. lindakitchen.com modern, original electro-pop, joined by singer/ into Gypsy, Eastern European, with a splash of Paco Cooper Hall // £18.00 // Event 614 songwriter Sara Vian on vocals. Laugh Clown Laugh de Lucia, Delta Blues and more. are Frome’s original electronic duo, comprising Sam The Silk Mill // £10.00 // Event 613 21:00 - 23:30 Findlay & Dominic O’Brien, delivering a killer set of WASSAIL BLUES BAND super-catchy synthpop of snappy drum machine 20:00 - 21:50 With their origins steeped in folklore, cider and rhythms & squelchy synths. PANTS! WHO WEARS THE TROUSERS IN shotguns, the WBB bring a fine cocktail of heavy The Granary // FREE // Event 610 YOUR OPERA? Blues and funky grooves to the party, with a locked Cross-dressing, gender-bending operatic trouser roles in rhythm section, cascading lead guitar, breathless 19:45 - 22:00 are explored in this British Premiere of Pants. With a harmonica and soaring vocals. ESP 2.0 professional singing career spanning 25 years, Seattle The Sun Inn // FREE // Event 615 Peter Coyle (ex Lotus Eaters) and Tony Lowe (Composer/Producer/Guitarist) with Full Band will perform music from their new prog rock album, ’22 LAYERS OF SUNLIGHT’, along with songs from ‘Invisible Din’ the 2016 release which earned over 14 top reviews by the music industry.