What’s on where around Luton: listings, September 9 edition

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 9

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 can come and go at any time. £6 per session including materials and refreshments.

Quiz night every Wednesday from 8pm. £1 entry per person, maximum of six per team. St Vincents Social Centre, Houghton Regis. Prize for the winning team.

Join Houghton Regis Craft and Coffee to craft or just chat and have a coffee. They meet on the second Wednesday and last Friday of the month from 10am to 3pm at Houghton Regis Community Centre.

The first session is free.

Email [email protected] or call 07519 539554.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12

Anyone wanting the chance to perform alongside Antony Costa in Cinderella at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable this Christmas can attend auditions. There are sessions for ages six to 11, 10 to 15, 14 to 18 and 17 and over. Visit http://dunstablepanto.com for details.

Next Generation Youth Theatre bring their award-winning new The Butterfly Catcher, a play with music, to The Hat Factory in Bute Street on Saturday, September 12. Tickets are £8 or £6 for concessions. Call 01582 878100 or visit http://www.lutonculture.com to book.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 15

He’s been acclaimed as Britain’s best young blues gunslinger – and audiences from Luton and the surrounding area can see what all the fuss is about when Laurence Jones plays at the Public Halls in Harpenden, The venue is in Southdown Road. Advance tickets are £11 plus booking fee. Call 01472 349222 or see http://www.solidentertainments.com/presents.htm#LAURENCE-JONES-TOUR. More information on page 33.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16

Back to Bacharach celebrates the magical music of Burt Bacharach, one of the most accomplished popular composers of the 20th century, live at Watford Colosseum on Wednesday, September 16. Burt Bacharach, with Hal David, penned some of the most memorable hits in pop history , including Anyone Who Had A Heart, Arthur’s Theme, Always Something There To Remind Me, Close To You, I Say A Little Prayer For You, Magic Moments, Walk On By, What’s New Pussycat?, 24 Hours from Tulsa, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head and many more. The production is performed by the three West End singers accompanied by a live ten-piece band recreating Burt Bacharach’s timeless hits. Tickets cost £21.50 and £18.50, plus fees. Visit www.watfordcolosseum.co.uk for more information and to book online 24 hours a day, or call 0845 075 3993.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17

It’s 1895, and that master of all detectives, Sherlock Holmes, is back in action. Only this time, the pursuer looks like becoming the pursued.

The Victorian play Sherlock Holmes has found an atmospheric setting in Toddington Amateur Dramatic Society’s own Victorian theatre, in the heart of Toddington. Visit www.tadstheatre.org or call 07952 633234 for tickets more information, and see page 21 for further details.

Following a successful spring tour and a two-week run at London’s Soho Theatre, Andy Parsons is on the road this autumn – and is coming to the Palace Theatre in Watford. Andy has enjoyed huge success as a writer and performer on television, radio and the live comedy stage. Tickets cost £15. To book, or for more information, visit www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk or call the box office on 01923 225671.

Kevin Precious will be the compere as three acclaimed comics take to the stage for the Barnstormers night at the Grove Theatre, Dunstable. Tickets are £12.50 in advance and £15 on the door. Visit grovetheatre.co.uk or call 01582 60 20 80. See page 20 for details.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18

Marking 40 years in the business, the three original vocalists, Chris Amoo, Eddie Amoo and Dave Smith are together once more with The Real Thing. With three million selling hit singles including You To Me Are Everything, Can’t Get By Without You and Can You Feel The Force plus further top ten success with You’ll Never Know What You’re Missing and Whenever You Want My Love, the band’s brand of commercial sweet soul music, mixed with disco influences, established The Real Thing as the UK’s best loved soul band. The UK’s best-selling black group of the late 70s, Mojo magazine founder, Paul Du Noyer, credits them alongside Deaf School with restoring Liverpool’s musical reputation in the 1970s. They play The Stables in Wavendon at 8pm. Tickets cost £23.50. Call 01908 280800.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19

The Victorian play Sherlock Holmes has found an atmospheric setting in Toddington Amateur Dramatic Society’s own Victorian theatre, in the heart of Toddington. Visit www.tadstheatre.org or call 07952 633234 for tickets or more information, and see page 21 for further details.

American slide blues and roots guitarist John Emil will bring his celebrated style to the Bear Club in Luton. John has given show-stopping performances at major music festivals including the Telluride Blues and Brews Fest, the Lake Occonee Music Fest, the Florida and South Florida Folk Festivals, the Decatur Blues and Bluegrass Festival, the 2012 Bangor On Dee Blues Festival in the UK and the 2012 Zoetemeer Blues Festival in the Netherlands. Emil creates a unique style by integrating country blues, folk, bluegrass and lush Hawaiian sounds into his repertoire. His instrumental tracks have been used by American TV shows Dateline, The Voice, ESPN and several international wildlife and nature documentaries. The show starts at 8.30pm. Tickets are £6. Visit www.the-bear.club for more.

Whipsnade Zoo is holding an ‘Elephantastic’ weekend in celebration of the elephant. Through elephant encounters, family activities and fascinating talks, the event will raise money for international science and conservation charity ZSL’s Asian elephant conservation and research projects. Visitors can enjoy their very own close-up experience with an elephant, feed it a healthy snack and have their photo taken, in exchange for a small donation towards elephant conservation work. Young and old alike will discover what it takes to look after such huge creatures at a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the elephant barn. There will be many ways to have fun with the children too, whether it’s making elephant masks, face painting or dancing along to the sounds of Asia. Elephantastic runs from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20. Normal entry charges of £25 adults and £18 children apply. Visit www.zsl.org for more.