Feast of entertainment at Festival on the Close
Top comedy, music, poetry, dance and more await when the Festival on the Close returns to Rugby this week.
The event begins on Saturday June 20 with much-loved poet Michael Rosen’s new show, Nice, at the Temple Speech Room at 6pm. As he celebrates his 80 birthday, Rosen looks back at a lifetime in poetry, performing favourites including Hot Food, No Breathing and Chocolate Cake, along with never-before-heard poems from his new collection Peas On Your Knees.
Sara Pascoe headlines Manford's Comedy Club at the Tandem Outdoor Arena at 8pm the same day. As a TV regular in the UK, Pascoe has appeared on the likes of Taskmaster (Channel 4), Live at the Apollo (BBC Two), QI (BBC Two), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4) and Mock the Week (BBC Two). Her latest stand-up show I Am a Strange Gloop was her biggest ever and toured the UK, Australia and Canada.
Among the highlights on Sunday June 21 is Summer Spectacular, presented by Rugby School at the Temple Speech Room at 6.45pm and featuring an array of musicians and singers from the town. The concert features works by Bernstein, Sibelius, Hans Zimmer and Parry. That night, Tandem Outdoor Arena hosts the 18-piece Juke Ibiza Orchestra for a euphoric night of live dance anthems and club classics.
Described by BBC Music Magazine as “an immaculately blended, responsive, interactive consort,” The Gents of St John's Cambridge sing at the Macready Theatre on Monday June 22 at 1.30pm. Later that day, Teach Rex Live comes to the Tandem Outdoor Arena at 6pm. The show uses life-like dinosaurs to teach children about the anatomy and life of some the most remarkable creatures ever to have roamed our planet. Closing the day at the arena is She's Got Brass, billed as “London's premier all-girl brass extravaganza”.
Among the many treats on Tuesday June 23, London Festival Opera presents A Night at the Opera at the Tandem Outdoor Arena at 8pm, featuring celebrated arias and ensembles from the great operas of Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Bizet, Puccini, Offenbach, Gilbert & Sullivan and more. The distinguished cast appears in sumptuous period costume, recreating the grandeur and glamour of past times. At the same time at the Macready Theatre, Kings International Ballet presents the heartbreaking love story Giselle.
On Wednesday June 24 there’s an Instrumental Chamber Concert presented by the Rugby School Music Department at the Memorial Chapel at 1.30pm, a Monologue Shakespeare Slam at the Macready Theatre at 5pm and a striking new theatre piece A Sudden Disturbing To Do List at the Macready Theatre at 6pm.
And bringing festivities to a close on Thursday June 25 is Absolute Amy: The Amy Winehouse Tribute, featuring Amy’s original guitarist, Robin Banerjee, and the acclaimed singer Holly Cosgrove.
Visit thefestivalontheclose.co.uk for tickets.