Theatre

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

Waddesdon Manor n August 28 at 6pm (gates open 5.30pm)

Call 01296 653226

Join Badger, Ratty, Mole and Toad in the glorious gardens of stately Waddesdon Manor for a perfect summer of adventure. Alive with music, song and dance, this magical family show from Chapterhouse Theatre Company is presented in beautiful traditional costume and features a woodland parade during the interval for everyone to join in with. Fun and frolics aplenty with this glorious new adaptation of the classic novel loved by children and adults alike. The Northern Echo said of Chapterhouse: “Worth catching them whatever the show, wherever they go.”

Dance

GUYS AND DOLLS

Pegasus Theatre, Oxford n August 28-31 at 7.30pm, plus 2pm matinee on Friday and Saturday

Call 01865 812 150 or pegasustheatre.org.uk

RicNic Oxford present Guys and Dolls, a favourite American musical for its score of fabulous songs set against the glamour of 1950s New York. Sky Masterson is a notorious gambler, but as the scene shifts from the Hot Box nightclub to wild dancing in Havana, will Sky keep up his lucky streak when he’s betting on love? RicNic Oxford is a unique social enterprise: their shows are directed, produced and performed entirely by 16 to 20-year-olds. RicNic launched in Oxford in 2012 at Pegasus with a sell-out run of West Side Story, which was met with rave reviews.

Music

CURLEW RIVER AND HAGAR IN THE WILDERNESS

St John the Evangelist Church, Oxford

October 25 at 7.30pm

Call 01865 244 806, or musicatoxford.com In celebration of Benjamin Britten’s centenary year, Nova Music Opera present an intriguing operatic double-bill exploring the themes of loss, redemption and forgiveness. The Old Testament story of Hagar and Abraham is vividly brought to life by award-winning composer Sally Beamish and librettist Clara Glynn in their new chamber opera, Hagar in the Wilderness. The opera’s uncomfortable account of social injustice is still relevant today. Initially inspired by Benjamin Britten’s encounter with Noh theatre while on tour in Japan in 1955, Curlew River tells the haunting story of a mother’s search for her lost son. Britten and librettist William Plomer transformed the Noh play Sumidagawa into a medieval parable, set in the fenlands of East Anglia. Britten’s masterpiece, with its strange, unworldly scoring for exotic bells, un-tuned drums, organ and chamber ensemble is a once-heard-never-forgotten work. Nova Music Opera’s excellent cast includes Irish baritone Owen Gilhooly, and young soprano Kirsty Hopkins who takes the title role in Hagar in the Wilderness.