Lucy Boydell
23 July-7 August,
The Red Dot Gallery, Holt
Six new, impressive, upscale works by Lucy Boydell are set to go on display at The Red Dot Gallery in Holt. The exhibition entitled Freedom is the conclusion of unique encounters with red and white red stag, hare, wild boar, great bustard and capercaillie. These exceptional creatures have been observed in their natural surroundings at the peak of their vitality and virility. This extraordinary journey, two years in the making, encompasses photography, meeting owners, breeders and managers at the cutting edge of wildlife conservation and management, as well as exploring estates and parkland in areas of outstanding natural beauty and beholding their inhabitants. Months of observing and absorbing, before returning to the studio to translate into charcoal and chalk on paper; how light falls on hardened antler, sharpened beak, feathery bottoms, quivering whiskers and soulful energies, connection and understanding of spirit and the vigour of what it is to be alive.
John Lewis Norwich
Meet the Mammoth’s at John Lewis
27 June until 10 September
If you go down to John Lewis today you’ll be sure of a mammoth surprise! With the Mammoth take over happening across the city this summer John Lewis has a few of their own prehistoric guests ready to meet you in-store on the Mezzanine level. Three mammoths have been made by the store’s visual merchandising team from up-cycled materials including the denim which the mammoths are decorated with. Children can also enter the Mammoth colouring competition for the chance to win a special prize; pick up a mammoth colouring sheet in-store and post your entry into the Mammoth post box by 10 September.
Childrens craft parties hosted by SchooDoodle
Recommended for children ages 5-12, £15 per child, tickets must be booked in advance by emailing
schoodoodlearts@gmail.com
Thursday 4 August, 10am -11.30am
A very special SchooDoodle art workshop to create your very own dinosaur mask and headpiece… perfect for Dinosaur hunting in Norwich this summer!
Thursday 1 September, 10am -11.30am
Make your very own concertina book character, will your folded book become a monster or an animal?
Pensthorpe
Fakenham, Norfolk
It is said that fairies live at the bottom of the garden, which is the theme of Pensthorpe Natural Park’s imaginative new space featuring a bespoke sculpture by renowned artist, Robin Wight. Located under a canopy of trees in the former red squirrel enclosure, the Glade Sculpture Garden features evergreen trees, grasses harvested from the Millennium Garden, seasonal hellebores, ferns and wildflowers, which will be left to evolve naturally over time.
Complemented by several sculptures, the 12ft fairy centrepiece was commissioned especially for the garden by Pensthorpe’s owners Bill and Deb Jordan, and has been created by artist Robin Wight, who is best known for his imaginative fairy trail at Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire.
Alula, the fairy is accompanied by three giant dandelion sculptures, and other creative touches around the garden, including intricate mosaics handmade by experts Katie Green and Primrose Mosaics, and glass artwork by Jenny Pickford, adding colourful accents of green and blue.
Summer Holiday
9-27 August
mtp and Theatre on the Coast in association with Sheringham Little Theatre, presents Summer Holiday. It’s nearly sixty years since Cliff Richard and the Shadows took off on a joyous jaunt across Europe in a Routemaster bus in the film Summer Holiday. The film is now a feel-good stage musical, with Don and his fellow London Transport bus mechanics journeying through Paris, the Alps, Italy and then Greece, and all to the strains of a hit-filled score featuring In the Country, Summer Holiday, I Could Easily Fall in Love with You, Bachelor Boy, Move It, Living Doll, The Young Ones and On the Beach. A real taste of Great British nostalgia!
Norwich Theatre Royal
Chicago | 11 July
Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Starring Coronation Street’s Faye Brookes (Dancing On Ice, Grease, Legally Blonde) as Roxie Hart, West End and TV stars Brenda Edwards (Loose Women, Chicago, The X Factor) as Matron ‘Mama’ Morton, Lee Mead (Joseph, Holby City, Wicked, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) as Billy Flynn, and Djalenga Scott (Annie, Chicago, West Side Story) as Velma Kelly.
Here Come The Boys | 17 July
Dance superstars Graziano di Prima, Nadiya Bychkova, Pasha Kovalev and Strictly finalist Karim Zeroual will be joined by the sensational Nikita Kuzmin. This is a show-stopping dance extravaganza with a soundtrack full of dance-floor anthems, club classics and guilty pleasures.
Good Vibrations – Classic Beach Boys | 20 July
Mixing surfin’ guitars, stunning vocals and the English Philharmonic Orchestra, you will hear fabulous new orchestrations, bringing a completely new dimension to the Beach Boy hits. Look no further than Good Vibrations – Classic Beach Boys at Norwich Theatre Royal for a twist on the classic Beach Boys harmonies and sixties surfing sound.
On Before | 29 – 30 July
Devised, directed and performed by Carlos Acosta, On Before is a powerful homage to Acosta’s late mother and is his most personal work yet. See the show before Norwich Theatre takes it on tour across Europe
this summer.
Holt Festival
23-30 July
Returning with another packed programme of out-standing entertainment and, as ever, they have an eclectic mix of the performing arts; from classical to world music, poetry, talks and comedy. There will also be a very special art exhibition featuring John Craxton and Pablo Picasso, which includes work by Lucian Freud and Alberto Giacometti. There will also be the annual Sir John Hurt and Sworders art prizes, with the addition of the new Charlotte Fraser ceramics prize.
Highlights this year include the effervescent best selling author Marian Keyes, talking about her latest book, Again, Rachel. Antiques expert and teatime TV favourite from Antiques Road Trip and FLOG IT!, Paul Martin, tells us about his passion for beautiful furniture. Writer, poet and national treasure, Lemn Sissay reads from his Sunday Times bestselling memoir, My name is why. While world music lovers will be blown away by the infectious enthusiasm and joy of Guinean master musician N’famady Kouyaté and his full band line-up on the last night.
Anwen Hurt, Artistic Director of the Holt Festival, says “We are very excited by the way the programme has come together and very much looking forward to welcoming everyone to a scintillating Holt Festival ’22”.