What's on where around Luton: listings, March 2 edition

WEDNESDAY

Adults with learning difficulties arts and craft sessions. Every Wednesday 10.30am to 12.30pm and Saturdays from 11am to 1pm at Arttrend, Arundel Road, Luton. Social and creative activity for adults with learning difficulties, engaging in all types of art and craft work such as painting in acrylics, papier mache, salt dough, cross stitch, rug making etc. Please see the website www.arttrend.co.uk and go to Art ALD, then see the gallery of work already done. Tel 07794 987796 if you would like more details. 10.30am to 12.30pm Wednesdays, 11am to 1pm Saturdays – but you can come and go at any time. £6 per session including materials and refreshments.

Luton Irish Forum holds a weekly Tuesday and Wednesday Club from 11am to 1.30pm at 102 Hitchin Road. This is a great chance to meet old friends and make some new ones. Refreshments are all included along with soda bread, scones with jam and monthly chicken and chips. Entry costs £1, plus optional £3 for two games of bingo and a raffle.

On the Edge Comedy returns to The Edge club in Luton. It’s a monthly night run and hosted by Lutonian and comedian Dave Fensome. Each act is hand picked, and represents a great cross section of the best up and coming acts in the UK comedy circuit. Headlining is 2015 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year nominee, David Jordan. His self-deprecating musical material has been winning over crowds up and down the country. Also on the bill is the sardonic miserablism of parole officer Josh Dillon, the eccentric alternative comedy of Cheekykita, the down to earth idot/genius abroad observations of Australian Taco, Rebecca Shortall, Funny Women semi-finalist 2015 and the irascible self obsessive stylings of Alex R Winter. The night is hosted by Dave Fensome. Luton born and bred, now living in Brighton, Dave has set this night up as a labour of love and a way of promoting arts and culture in the town that he grew up in. Tickets are available from wegottickets.com at £6 or £7.50 on the door (subject to availability).

THURSDAY

Encore screening of As You Like It from the National Theatre, presented at the Grove Theatre, Dunstable at 7pm. With her father the Duke banished and in exile, Rosalind and her cousin Celia leave their lives in the court behind them and journey into the Forest of Arden. There, released from convention, Rosalind experiences the liberating rush of transformation. Disguising herself as a boy, she embraces a different way of living and falls spectacularly in love. Tickets: £15. Call 01582 60 20 80 or visit www.grovetheatre.co.uk to book.

Panto favourites Payne & Pearce are bringing their new live stage show to the Grove Theatre, Dunstable at 10am. Expect chaos, jesters, princesses and laughter for the whole family. Along with Sir Dizzy the Dragon, Silly Billy and Silly Willy must be the best jesters they can be and tell Princess Petula a story that will cheer her up. All tickets cost £2.50. Call 01582 60 20 80 to book.

FRIDAY

Luton Irish Forum’s Baby and Toddler group meets at 102 Hitchin Road, Luton LU2 0ES, every Friday from 9.30am to 11am during term time. Recommended a donation of £1 per adult and 50p per child. A drink and a healthy snack is provided for your child(ren) around the middle of the session. Tea, coffee and biscuits are available for the adults throughout the morning. Telephone 01582 720447.

The world’s favourite ABBA and Bee Gees concert show, Thank You for the Music, comes to the Grive Theatre, Dunstable with its all-new, sequin-spangled spectacular. The international smash-hit show’s all-star cast has delighted the world with Lycra-tight harmonies and superb musicianship for longer than ABBA during the 1970s and ‘80s. The show starts at 8pm. Tickets cost £25 or £22.50. Call 01582 60 20 80 or visit www.grovetheatre.co.uk to book.

International award-winning author, screenwriter and film producer Terry McMillan will be interviewed and read from her new and past novels at the Auction House in Crescent Road, Luton at 7.30pm, followed by a Q&A session. Tickets £25.50, meet and greet £35.50. Call 07956 982 923 to book or for more information.

SATURDAY

Celebrate Luton Poetry, featuring Anne-Marie Fyfe at Luton Central Library at 4pm. Selected performances from members of Luton’s many poetry societies. The event will be headlined by a reading from renowned poet Anne-Marie Fyfe, former chair of the Poetry Society and founder of Coffee-House Poetry at the Troubadour. Tickets: £3.50. Ages 15+. Part of the Lutonia festival. Visit www.lutonculture.com or call 01582 878100 to book or for more information.

The Kast off Kinks are actual former members of the legendary band The Kinks, and play at the Grove Theatre, Dunstable at 7.30pm. The line-up features Mick Avory (the original drummer on all the classic hits from 1964-84), John Dalton (bass/vocals, Kinks 1966 & 1969-‘76), Ian Gibbons (keyboards/vocals, Kinks 1979-‘96 and still with Ray Davies) with Dave Clarke (guitar/vocals, formerly of the Beach Boys, Noel Redding & Tim Rose). Tickets: £20 and £18. Call 01582 60 20 80 or visit www.grovetheatre.co.uk to book.

Special Craft Saturday returns to the Methodist Church Hall in Dunstable, with craft stalls including cards, jewellery, quilted items, faery doors, sweets, gifts, bags, wood turned items, bird boxes, Easter baskets, specialist & personalised pictures/frames, hand knitted products and much much more. Added to this is a vehicle display by Dunstable Dubbers on the Square with their VW Camper Vans. It runs from 10am to 3pm.

Dunstable Library plays host to the first ever Selfie Slot Car Championship from 10am to 4.30pm. Race director, artist and car enthusiast Chris Dobrowolski is creating a homage to the heyday of model-making and Scalextric of the 1970s, as part of an ambitious art project commissioned by Central Bedfordshire Council’s libraries. Starting at 10am with morning qualifiers and culminating with the final race in the afternoon. Call Dunstable Library on 0300 300 8056 for more information.

Watford Colosseum’s spectacular World-Class Concert Season 2016 will start with the Philharmonia Orchestra, led by the conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. Violinist Esther Yoo, a rising bright star, will perform Tchaikovsky’s awe-inspiring Violin Concerto with the orchestra. This concert performance will celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Sibelius, with live performances of the unofficial national anthem of Finland alongside his stirring Symphony No. 2. The concert starts at 7.30pm. Tickets: £37.50, £35.00, £28.50, £15. Call 01923 571102 to book.

MONDAY MARCH 7

God In The Machine at The Hat Factory, Luton, from 7pm to 11pm. Film company A Film Place will be exploring the consciousness in machines through a programme of science fiction cinema and cultural discussions. Free admission (suggested donation £3). Ages 15+. Part of the Lutonia festival. Visit www.lutonculture.com or call 01582 878100 to book or for more information.

Pianist Danny Driver returns to Luton Library Theatre with the last in his series of four concerts celebrating the late chamber music of Beethoven. He plays the mighty Hammerklavier sonata, one of the great epics of the solo piano repertoire. The programme is completed by the Mazurkas of Thomas Adès, Debussy’s Images, Book 1 and a Handel keyboard suite featuring the famous Harmonious Blacksmith variations. The concert is part of the Music on Mondays series, run by Luton Music. Tickets for adults, including seniors, are £15, and £8 for registered students, unemployed or disabled people. Entrance to people under the age of 18 and in education is free. For further information about the concert or to book tickets in advance, call the box office on 01582 878100. They will also be available on the concert door. Ample parking indoors in the adjacent Mall car park and costs £1 after 6pm. More details can be found by visiting www.lutonmusic.org.uk

TUESDAY MARCH 8

Toddington Poetry Society In Luton hosts A Celebration Of Irish Poetry at High Town Community Centre. A regular meeting of the Toddington Poetry Society in Luton. The society is open to all who enjoy reading, writing or hearing poetry. Admission £3 nembers, £5 non-members. Ages 15+. Part of the Lutonia festival. Visit www.lutonculture.com or call 01582 878100 to book or for more information.

Culture In Conflict – Film And Debate, Citizen Four, The Hat Factory, Luton, 6pm to 9pm. Culture in Conflict is a series of powerful, issue-based creative films that tell moving stories and explore contemporary topics from unusual perspectives. Directed by Laura Poitras, Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald. Guest speakers will lead audience discussions after the screening. Light refreshments provided. Admission £5 or £3.50. Ages 16+. Part of the Lutonia festival. Visit www.lutonculture.com or call 01582 878100 to book or for more information.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 9

Author Dennis Carey talks about his book, The Ditcher, which tells the story of Irish company Bord na Móna moving into the small town of Bangor Erris in County Mayo in the 1950s. Their mission was to harvest enough turf to fuel the new power station at Bellacorrick, six miles away. The talk takes palce at Luton Irish Forum at 11.30am. Call 01582 720447 to book or for more information.

Joe Longthorne performs at the Grove Theatre, Dunstable. The talented artist began his career over three decades ago with appearances on Junior Showtime, followed by a grounding on the tough Northern club circuit. His big break came in 1981 when he was a finalist on London Weekend Television’s Search for a Star. This led to appearances at the London Palladium with Bob Hope and The Talk of the Town. Now, Joe is looking forward to new challenges, new songs to sing and new audiences to thrill. Tickets: £22. Call 01582 60 20 80 or visit www.grovetheatre.co.uk to book.