Theatre
MIES JULIE
August 13 to 17 at 7.30pm (Friday 8pm), 2.30pm matinées Thursday and Saturday
Box office: 01865 305305 or oxfordplayhouse.com
Following sell-out runs, standing ovations and sensational reviews at the Edinburgh Festival and London’s Riverside Studios, this multi-award winning show comes to Oxford Playhouse. In the smouldering kitchen of a remote South African house, 18 years after the end of apartheid, a single night of brutality and tenderness unfolds between a black farm labourer and his white master’s daughter. The visceral struggles of contemporary South Africa are laid bare as the couple’s deadly attraction spirals out of control. This explosive new adaptation of Strindberg’s classic Mies Julie is from the internationally acclaimed director Yael Farber.
Music
CORNBURY FESTIVAL
Great Tew Estate, Oxfordshire OX7 4AH n July 5 to 7
Box office: bookingsdirect.com/call 0844 338 0000 or cornburyfestival.com The Cornbury Festival, aka Poshstock, celebrates its tenth anniversary this year with a bumper line-up of music stars. This year will see first-time appearances from Van Morrison, Keane and enchanting balladeer Amy MacDonald, all artists long on the festival’s wish list. Returning champions of festivals past include Ms Imelda May, along with Squeeze, Bellowhead, Beverley Knight, The Proclaimers, Echo & The Bunnymen, Seth Lakeman and Tift Merritt. New stars include X Factor winner James Arthur, Emilia Mitiku, King Charles, Lawson, Jack Savoretti, Lucy Spraggan and world music pioneers Osibisa. The Absolute Radio Comedy Stage returns and the festival even has its own beer. It has teamed up with award-winning independent local brewer Hook Norton for the creation of anniversary ale, The Glorious 10th.
Musical
SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME
New Theatre, Oxford n July 22 to 27 at 7.30pm, plus 2.30 matinées Wednesday and Saturday n Box office: 0844 871 3020 or atgtickets.com/oxford From the team that created Dreamboats and Petticoats, Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield present a new musical full of rock and roll classics. The show transports audiences to music’s golden era as it follows two teenage sisters through the summer of ‘63. The siblings embark on a holiday to the seaside for the first time without their parents. Full of freedom and high spirits they meet a handsome young American who invites them to a dance at the local US air force base, but young love and holiday romance is never as simple as it sounds. Showcased are the classic hits of Pomus and Shuman A Teenager in Love, Sweets for my Sweet, Turn Me Loose, Here I Go Again, Viva Las Vegas, Little Sister, His Latest Flame, Suspicion, Can’t Get Used to Losing You and Save the Last Dance For Me.
Art
ART IN ACTION
Waterperry House, near Wheatley
July 18 to 21, 10am to 5.30pm
Box office: artinaction.org.uk
Art in Action, one of the longest-running festivals of fine art and master craftsmanship in the UK, is this year introducing a group of younger artists, involved in a variety of disciplines including glass, ceramics, textiles, woodwork, painting and jewellery. They include Harriet Riddell who travels with her sewing machine to public places and draws in stitch, making quick decisions to capture the moving world around her; ceramicist Christopher Taylor; jeweller Sophie Stamp; Jody Koomen, whose designs celebrate the rich, colourful grain and natural shape of local woods and lampworker Catriona MacKenzie.
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