Children's theatre workshops



Saturday, 24 May, 10am, 10.40am & 11.20am

Strood Library, ME2, 3EP

A week before their festival performance of Giraffes Can't Dance , Blunderbus Theatre Company invite children to learn new skills and most importantly, have a lot of fun. For children four to eight-years-old.

£2

Bird & Bone by Dawn Badland



Saturday, 17 May – Sunday, 13 July, 10.30am – 5pm
Rochester Art Gallery, Medway Visitor, ME1 1LX

Initially inspired by The Birds of Rainham , a book by Victorian naturalist Walter Prentis, this exhibition focuses largely on local bird species. Combining print and mixed media work.

Meet the artist in the gallery on Sat, 7 June, 12noon – 12.45pm
Steve Nye introduces original volumes of the 1873 book, Birds of Great Britain .

Thu, 12 June, 2 - 4pm, Rochester Guildhall Museum, Main Chamber

FREE

This curated exhibition will showcase a range of new works by some of the most exciting new talent living or working in Medway, including ceramics, jewellery, sculpture, textiles, fashion, product design and furniture.

FREE

Saturday, 31 May, from 12noon - 4pm

All performances take place on Chatham High Street and are free .

Musical Ruth – 12noon, 1.30pm, 3.30pm
A wimple-wielding madcap who drives an extravagant mobile piano.

Bob and Bob Jobbins – 12.30pm, 2pm, 3.15pm
Children are invited to listen and decide, what is The Naughtiest Noise in the Galaxy ?

Creature Feature Productions – 12.15pm, 2.15pm, 3.30pm
Meet a family of life-size and lifelike mountain gorillas and their friend the intrepid explorer.

Big Rory and Co – 12noon, 1.30pm, 3pm
A couple of cheeky, giant gulls are heading your way, intent on causing chaos.

Theatre Risorius – 12-12.40pm, 1-1.40pm, 3-3.40pm, 4-4.40pm
A beautiful, puppet-played fable for children three years-old and over.

Flying Buttresses – 1.15pm, 3pm
A pint-sized, elderly couple that make up for their small stature with huge personalities.

The Brook Youth Theatre – a Fuse partner

Presenting Comedy Capers – come and join these young players for laugh and song as you shop along.

Emerging artists

Frolicked
Outdoor puppetry theatre, in the form of the service-driven Arthur the Usher.

The Young Marriage Club
Edinburgh Fringe preview of the company's friendly new comedy Happy Now.

University of Kent at Medway
Featuring students from the Event and Experience Design course

FREE

From 7pm – family workshop

Carnival Crowns Workshop - Come along and make colourful carnival crowns to wear at our spectacular Caribbean launch night. Using card, paper, feathers and sparkle, you'll also get a special fruit cocktail to enjoy as you watch the fireworks.

This workshop is FREE and suitable for all ages. No need to book - just come and find us inside Chatham Library. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

7.30 – 8pm – The Alexander D'Great Trio

Live music to make your mouth water from these calypso masters.

8 – 8.30pm – carnival procession

Local community groups join forces with professional Caribbean artist H Patten and musicians for a spectacular procession.

8.30 – 8.45pm – The Alexander D'Great Trio

8.45 – 9.30pm – live performances

Community groups and professionals from the procession take to the stage.

9.30pm – the Hei People and fireworks

Come and say hello, as the peace-loving Hei People are officially unveiled and The World Famous, masters of fireworks, flames and pyrotechnic art, light the night.

Arranged in association with Music For Change. A strict no glass, no alcohol and no pets policy will be in operation at the launch event.

FREE

The party continues inside The Brook Theatre with the mighty reggae rhythms of REBEL CONTROL and old school ska and reggae beats courtesy of High Life DJs. After a few Caribbean cocktails and tasty snacks from the bar, you'll practically be able to feel the sand between your toes and the sun on your skin. From Music For Change.

Tickets £5 – seating available but limited

A funny, touching and triumphant story, written especially for children aged four to seven-years-old. Blunderbus uses music, breathtaking imagery and a host of delightful puppets to whisk the audience far, far away, deep into the jungle. The company also brought us the recent production of Charlotte's Web .

Tickets £4

Stories about community spirit, love, loss and hope. The imaginations of the Ragroof team are inspired by people's recollections of life in the 40s and knitted together using physical expression, text, soundscapes, poetry and visual language. An uplifting and heart-warming performance for all ages.

Tickets £6

One night, two headliners; encompassing the style, sound and lyrical integrity that underpins Medway's great musical heritage. Cool enough not to care about his appearance on the NME's end-of-year cool list, Lupen Crook (www.myspace.com/lupencrook) casts acoustic waves with malevolent intent. Often filed as underground folk, Mr Crook is equally and honestly disdainful of such tags and prefers to describe his music as dead-dog blues or the sound of a butterfly dying. Joint headliners are The Long Weekend (www.myspace.com/longweekend). The six-piece deliver clashed riffs with a syncopated urgency that is reminiscent of Strummer at his best. The Sunday Times called the band's single, Record, brilliant and they are shortly due to play Alan Mcgee's Death Disco. Support will come from one of Medway's up-and-coming young bands.

Tickets £5

The return - for one night only - of Medway's original variety club. With poetry from Wolf Howard and Zara Carpenter and acoustic music from  Kid Harpoon and other special guests. There will also be an open mike session and a DJ playing decent old music at a level you can talk over. All Urban Fox books and CDs will be available on the night half price.

Tickets £5

Bloco Fogo (www.blocofogo.com) – 12noon
This band of samba masters will bring the heartbeat of Brazilian, African and Cuban music to Rochester.

The Floor Crusaders – 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 3.30pm
These award winning breakdance masters are regular performers throughout Europe.

Dance with the Chinese Lion
Medway Lion Dance team presents a traditional Chinese lion dance.

Srishti Dance Company ( www.srishti.co.uk ) - 12.15pm, 1.15pm, 2.15pm
A modern and fast-paced piece, reflecting today's cut-throat business world.

Product & Senzala & Capoeira School (www.groupsenzala.co.uk) 12.15pm, 2.45pm, 3.45pm
A mesmerising and graceful display of the Brazilian art, Capoeira, combining music, dance, martial arts and game play.

Emerging artists

Alana Jones – 12.45pm, 1.45pm, 3pm
Tightwire artist, performing a mix of dance, technical skills and abstract movement two metres up; to live classical guitar music.

Wasted Dance Theatre ( www.wastedgrace.co.uk ) 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm
An intense and dark piece inspired by Van Gough's The Potato Eaters .

Karina Hartwig – 12.15pm, 1.15pm, 2.15pm
Karina activates deep sleeping feelings and explores forgotten wishes from the twilight hours.

Dance Alley
Local dance school for children celebrates 15 years in Medway.

FREE

Street dance
A funky street dance class for all abilities, with Sammie Searle. Learn MTV inspired dance routines to chart hits. Consists of a warm up, full routine and a cool down. For teenagers and adults.
12noon-1pm

Capoeira – Brazilian dance and martial art
Come and try this exciting Brazilian art form, involving music, dance, martial arts and game play. A fun chance to develop skills with the Senzala School of Capoeira from Mestre Gato. Beginners welcome.
1-2pm

Break dance
Get down with JP Omari and learn some of the basics of break dancing. Omari is a member of European renowned The Floor Crusaders and has appeared on the BBC's Strictly Dance Fever .
2-3pm

Bowled over by Bollywood
Join Hannah Wheeler for an introduction to the song and dance routines that characterise Bollywood musicals.
3-4pm

£2

Based on the children's book by Jutta Bauer, this award-winning show mixes shadow puppetry and film. A beautiful journey into the wonderful world of colour for children four-years-old and above. The show starts at 3pm, after an introduction by the company and a tea party for the children.

A unique blend of funny, sensual and astounding acts from England, Scotland, Italy and Portugal; brought together by the UK's leading Circus Arts organisation. Includes a homage to the world's greatest Rock-a-Hula icon, a tribute to timeless physical comedy, an acrobatic romance and a yo-yo performance for the iGeneration.

Motionhouse Dance Company uses stunning physical dance, poignant imagery and surprising aerial encounters to explore the new reality of train travel. Funny, engaging, moving and thought provoking, Underground is attention grabbing, edge of your seat and in-your-face dancing.

Underground is commissioned by Fierce Festival, Birmingham Hippodrome and Without Walls.

Tickets £6

A rich tapestry of illustrated yarns woven from history and beyond, inspired by material and manuscripts submitted by members of the public and reconstructed by award-winning illustrator Mark Barnes.

In the Nucleus Gallery until 21 June and then Café Nucleus, in edited form, for the next two weeks.

Medway-based community group, HeART Medway, presents a spectacular piece of site-specific public. Featuring a photomosaic installation made out of thousands of images, highlighting local people's heritage.

The Amazing Camera Obscura – 12noon-4pm
Welcome to a safe and watchful world where, hidden from view, you can keep a beady eye on what everyone else is up to.

Gandini Jugglers – 12noon, 1.30pm, 3pm
Described as “poetry in motion” by The Independent , Gandini Jugglers take the art of throwing and catching to mesmerising new levels.

Balloonatic – 12noon, 1.30pm, 3pm
Forget the vaguely convincing sausage dogs of old, Balloonatic has inflated balloon art to a new level.

Pillow Fight Cup – 12noon, 1.30pm, 3pm
A handful of audience hopefuls get 30 minutes to contest for the revered Pillow Fight Cup. Only one feathery-skilled fighter will emerge victorious.

The Black Eagles – 12.30pm, 3.15pm
The Black Eagles make the street their own through acrobatic performances packed with power and grace.

Close Act – 12.30pm, 2.30pm
Gentle and inquisitive by nature, these towering, metallic dinosaurs can get rather excited when hungry.

Jon Hicks – 12.45pm, 2pm, 2.45pm, 3.45pm
A speed painter extraordinaire. Can you guess the brush-stroked icon before the music stops and the canvas is turned?

Emerging artists

Frolicked
Outdoor puppetry theatre. Meet The Boggart, a goblin who will wreak havoc.

The Young Marriage Club
Edinburgh Fringe preview of the company's friendly new comedy Happy Hour .

Cirque Idyllic
One man and his piano, on the edge of a climate abyss, cursed to wander the flood for all eternity. Could that be the cue for a song?

FREE

A first-love story, a murder ballad and a cautionary tale - a powerful outdoor promenade performance inspired by Blake's Songs of Innocence & Experience and Browning's poem Porphyria's Lover. Arquiem features live music, visual theatre, stilts, pyrotechnics, acrobatics and beautifully crafted mobile structures.

Co-commissioned by Made In Brighton, South Hill Park Arts Centre & Winchester Hat Fair. Funded by Arts Council England South East.

Time Out has described Chatham-based Brigadier Ambrose as a “merging of Pavement and Belle & Sebastian” , although Syd Barrett, Super Furry Animals and Elliot Smith equally spring to mind. Already championed by BBC6 Music, BBC Radio One and XFM, the band are melodic, witty and refreshingly unconcerned about fame and fortune. Support comes from Wait for Tomorrow (http://www.myspace.com/waitfortomorrowuk), a young, Chatham-based band whose crushing power chords slip into riffs that may have started with early Maiden but have long since swum the Atlantic and returned dripping with emotion.