Tomorrow sees the opening night of Joseph & The Technicolour Dream Coat the new performance by the children of St Wilfrid’s Catholic School in Crawley.
Shelley went along to see the rehearsals and to talk to James Hayden, Drama teacher.
Last year the school sold out on all three evening performances with their rendition of Little Shop of Horrors. This year’s performance is looking to be just as successful.
The show runs from the 10th – 12th March at a cost of £7 adults and £5 students. The tickets can be bought by calling the school on 01293 421421 or on the door.
Crawley Borough Council and the Expanding Communities Project set up a free Polish cultural celebration at Hazelwick School.
The council, in partnership with St Wilfrid’s and Hazelwick schools, organised the Expanding Communities Project at the Three Bridges-based school on Friday November 12.
We took some footage and pictures of the evening for you to enjoy.
The event is a result of close work between the Expanding Communities Project worker and both schools and aims to enhance community cohesion.
This free event was open to everyone and ran from 6-8pm and began with presentations prepared by students of St Wilfrid’s and Hazelwick schools. Funding has been provided by both schools and the Migration Impact Fund.
The main part of the event was Chopin’s recital for the grand piano performed by professional artist, Pawel Ulman.
Finally a selection of traditional Polish dishes were available to try with an opportunity to socialise and network.
Councillor Nigel Boxall, Cabinet member for Community Engagement, said: “Events like these help to build cohesive communities and develop positive relationships between people of different cultural backgrounds.
“I’m delighted that the council supported this event and urge all residents, Polish or otherwise, to get involved or the future.”
For more information on future events contact Agnieszka Tworkowska, Polish Community Worker, by calling 07824 696584 or email polishcw.crawley@cvs-arunwide.org.uk
The Hawth Crawley is delighted to announce that it has secured a grant of £99,999 supported by the National Lottery, through Arts Council England to develop and promote Going Global II, an audience development programme designed to offer audiences culturally diverse and international work in Crawley over the next two years.
Going Global II will give The Hawth the chance to further its programme of culturally diverse and international performances. The theatre will continue to showcase South Asian and African-Caribbean work while developing programming for emerging communities including Eastern European and Portuguese. The grant will also enable The Hawth to commission and co-produce culturally diverse work specifically for children to enjoy and to bring diverse communities together.
Councillor Lenny Walker, Cabinet member for Leisure and Cultural Services at Crawley Borough Council, said: “This is fantastic news and I’m delighted that we will be offering even more culturally diverse and international work at The Hawth. I hope the securing of this funding and the new programme enables more people to experience the arts locally.”
Sally Abbott, Regional Director, Arts Council England, said: “The Arts Council believes that the arts should be enjoyed by as many people as possible, and a project that seeks to widen engagement fits in with our mission of great art for everyone. We are delighted to be supporting this project and look forward to seeing people across Crawley enjoying the arts.”
Shows already set to attract the crowds include Tavaziva Dance’s Wild Dog capturing the beauty and elegance of Africa as part of Black History Month, The Jingle Dress which will transport little ones to Native America and there will be breathtaking dance in The Shiver which combines classical Indian dance and poetry by acclaimed poet and playwright Lemn Sissay. In the coming years The Hawth hopes to engage almost 200 artists, performers and theatre companies in order to attract new audiences with shows and workshops, giving everyone the chance to experience different cultures and create links with different communities.
This grant has also created an exciting new role at The Hawth as the theatre are now looking for an Audience Development Assistant to actively promote Going Global and co-ordinate community projects for the next two years. Anyone interested in the role can express an interest by emailing info@hawth.co.uk for more information.
Every year Crawley Black History Month gets bigger and better and this year is no exception with sixteen events across the town, many of which are free so there are plenty of reasons to celebrate.
The fun gets started in Queen Square on Saturday 2 October between 11am and 4pm with Crawley Black History Month Kick Off, a day of music, dance, fashion and food for everyone to enjoy. On Saturday 16 October Crawley Library will be holding Word From Africa, full of events based around some of the 2000 African languages, a number of which are spoken in Crawley.
The month of events is rounded off with one big celebration at The Hawth. On Saturday 30 October The Grand Finale will hit the stage at 7.30pm with professional acts alongside community performers. The fabulous band Baraka will have audiences up and dancing as they combine dance African highlife, South African Township, Calypso and Reggae music to create a sound your feet won’t be able to resist.
To really get into the spirit of the evening you can come along and sample delicious African dishes at the Arts Café at The Hawth and why not come along in traditional dress? Whatever you wear make sure you come ready to party!
These are just some of the highlights of the month, other events at The Hawth include Island Life, an evening of Diego Garcian Culture (13 Oct) offering an uplifting night of song and Sega dancing in The Studio, Wild Dog (14 Oct) a new dance show from Tavaziva Dance combining African dance and music with Western theatre and
The Day The Waters Came (19 Oct) a drama exploring the effects of Hurricane Katrina on thousands of black American citizens in New Orleans.
Little ones have plenty to enjoy too with Handa’s Surprise (16 Oct) returning to The Hawth Studio to transport them on a magical journey to Kenya, The Jingle Dress
(30 Oct) will enthral ages 3-5 with it’s dance narrative and colourful costumes and for 9 to 14 year olds who love sport why not sign up for the 6-a-side Football Tournament at the 3G pitch at Broadfield Stadium (30 Oct).
This year also sees the launch of the Crawley Black History website with full details of the programme, great pictures from last year and the opportunity for you give us feedback and contribute any of your own images.
If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved with any of the events above please visit www.crawleyblackhistory.co.uk or call The Hawth on 01293 553636 and ask for a flyer.
Fancy yourself as a film star? Then audition for a new movie written by Crawley residents
Young residents tackle extremism head on
A film about extremism written by Crawley residents is being planned – and if you’re a budding movie star don’t miss the auditions next week.
Crossed Paths has been written by young Crawley residents who were previously involved in the cult local feature film, RH11.
The film follows the stories of Cutch and Yousif, as they become embroiled in the controlling underworld of violent extremism.
Callum Johnston, RH11 director and co-writer of this project, said: “Since finishing RH11 I have been regularly asked about future film projects by budding Crawley actors.
“Well, this is a chance for those people to step up and work on a genuinely exciting project.”
The writers hope to involve a cast of mainly local residents and will be holding auditions at the Town Hall on Tuesday August 25 from 12.30-8.30pm.
The young residents are being supported at every stage by independent film production company Compulsive Productions.
Dan Musty, Director of Compulsive Productions, said: “The young writing team has been inspirational in the amount of time and effort they’ve put into this script and I hope that local residents will support this production with a strong turn out for the auditions.”
For more information on Crossed Paths and to register for the auditions visit the Crossed Paths Facebook group or email dan@compulsiveproductions.com or adam.welton@crawley.gov.uk
On Saturday 31st July and Sunday 1st August the annual Mela was held at the Hawth.
Consisting of information stands, such as the ‘Stop West Sussex going to waste’ campaign and the ‘Give Blood’ stand there was food galore of all types, a fun fair and music and dance from varying cultures.
Attended by the Mayor Lee Burke and Mayoress Ali Burke, the day was full of colour and sounds. We took alot of pictures and video which we hope will tell the story of this great event on their own. We would like to congratulate the Hawth and their staff for once again making it a safe and enjoyable event for all to enjoy.
Perfomers included the Diego Garcian/Reggae/Seggae Band, Filipino Dancers, Tanvee and Tiyana, Tariq and Reis, Monica Patel, Grizzly South feat. If-E, Maxwell, KK, Amy Othieno, Billy Delaney and friends and many more!
Did you attend the Mela? If you have any feedback, please feel free to comment below
Crawley is in for a treat this autumn, The Hawth is just about to reveal its new season and it has lots to offer those who love great music, hilarious comedy, stunning dance and powerful theatre.
Theatrical highlights for the coming months include the return of Love & Madness. The highly-acclaimed company wowed audiences with their performances of Oliver Twist, La Ronde and Romeo and Juliet at The Hawth in the last year and now they are back in The Studio with Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Richard III. Tara Arts are also back by public demand, this time bringing Shakespeare’s tragic romance to life using Bangladeshi theatre styles to breathe new life into the bard’s work in People’s Romeo. The Studio will also be offering a brand new show from Toby Wilsher, co-founder of Trestle Theatre with his new company MetaMorpho. Devil In The Detail is mask theatre at its best, dark comedy not to be missed!
Busting Out
Comedy fans have plenty to laugh about too with Busting Out! The hit musical comedy from Down Under. The show combines stand up comedy, musical, theatre and cabaret to leaving you feeling so good you’ll be busting to tell all your friends. If it’s Laughter Therapy you’re after then look no further as that’s the title of Jimmy Carr’s new show and you know what they say, laughter is the best medicine. Later in the season The Naked Truth will combine the funny and the poignant in a story of real women and real lives. The all-star cast including Maureen Nolan and Claire King (Emmerdale, Bad Girls) tell the story of five very different women and their struggle to master the art of pole dancing for a charity event sharing laughter and tears along the way.
Devil In The Detail
Music is always a key part of any Hawth season and the autumn is no exception. Blues-singing, guitar-picking, songwriting raconteur Roy Book Binder is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. As is Britain’s best-loved diva Jane McDonald. The singer and TV star will be leaving behind her Loose Women to perform a sensational concert with her fabulous musicians and singers. Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman of Rock band Yes have joined forces once again for a one off UK tour, The Anderson/Wakeman Project 360, features classic Yes and exclusive first performances of new songs, plus hilarious anecdotes from the two rock legends. Back For Good will be recreating the magic of Take That featuring a feast of feel-good hits from Relight My Fire to Patience, while One Night of Queen and Think Floyd will be paying tribute to two more greats. For those wanting to try something new, Mala Mamane Barka and his tribal songs are a chance to experience the mesmerising and unique music of a nomadic Niger tribe.
Jane McDonald
Dance, dance, dance with three very different dance performances that will each leave audiences breathless. Tango Pasión’s energy, zest and fervour for the Argentinean tango will captivate and amaze, experience the beauty and elegance of Tavaziva’s Wild Dog and explore The Shiver through movement and spoken word with Sadhana Dance.
Tango Pasion
October is Black History Month and as always The Hawth is celebrating in style. In fact this year we are starting early with a search for local performers at the Black History Month Talent Show in August. In honour of the World Cup the contest has a South African theme and winners will have the opportunity to perform at some of the main Black History Month events in the town this year. The Hawth’s Black History Month Celebrations include Island Life – An Evening of Diego Garcian Culture, Theatre Centre’s The Day The Waters Came, a play about the effects of Hurricane Katrina and of course the hugely popular Black History Month Celebration featuring a wealth of local talent as well as a performance from Baraka, who combine sounds from across Africa and the Caribbean to get audiences up and dancing!
All this plus much, much more including films, visual art exhibitions and fairs¬¬ are included in the brand new-look brochure, get a free copy by calling the Box Office on 01293 553636 or browse online at www.hawth.co.uk
The Hawth’s new season is soon to be unveiled and it’s full of the names you know and love in high quality live productions. We have music from some of the best in the business, comedy that will have you rolling in the aisles plus films and exhibitions for everyone to enjoy.
If you want a good laugh this summer you can look forward to comedy with Hardeep Singh Koli in The Nearly Naked Chef. Broadcaster, raconteur and writer, Hardeep displayed his culinary abilities on BBC’s Celebrity Masterchef when he was runner up in 2006. Here he combines his inventive cuisine with comedy for a very funny, laid back evening of entertainment in The Hawth Studio. Another famous face heading to Crawley this season is one of Britain’s best-loved and most versatile performers, Bradley Walsh. Known for his roles in Coronation Street and Law and Order UK, Bradley will be showing off his other talents with his very own brand of stand up comedy for a night of fun and laughter.
The Proclaimers
Music fans can rejoice as an array of favourites will be gracing the stage including big band magic from the Glenn Miller Orchestra UK, smooth, subtle and sophisticated blues from Eric Bibb, plus a celebration of this favourite genre in The Hawth’s 10th Blues Under The Sky. This ever-popular gig has been drawing crowds for a decade combining great music with delicious barbeque food, all in the open-air. This year performances from Barber and Taylor, The Elevators and Smokestack are set to make it the most memorable year yet. If the words ‘I would walk 500 miles’ spread a huge grin across your face and give you the urge to dance round in circles holding the arm of the person nearest you, then you’ll be thrilled to hear that The Proclaimers will be performing at The Hawth in June. ‘70s Rock ‘n’ Roll icon Alvin Stardust will be singing hits including My Coo-Ca Choo, Jealous Mind, Pretend and many more and for those who love the hip swivelling moves of the one and only King, One Night with Elvis is the perfect treat.
Brad
Following last year’s record-breaking success, the 2010 Crawley Folk Festival is back in June, offering three days of family friendly entertainment with more than 30 bands playing over five stages! Friday nights sees the return of Adrian Edmondson and The Bad Shepherds after the bands huge success last year. Saturday includes music from 2010 BBC Folk Award winner Martin Simpson and on Sunday, the newly crowned Folk Singer of the year, Jon Boden with The Remnant Kings will be headlining the main stage. There is also the chance to soak up the sun and sounds whilst enjoying the usual range of goodies on offer, including free workshops, craft stalls, demonstrations in Morris and traditional folk dance and the big news is the selection of beers available in the Beer Tent has DOUBLED this year!
BAD SHEPS black 4 grain
There’s be more alfresco fun throughout the season as Worth Park Gardens hosts the half-term treat James and the Giant Peach, Goffs Park will transport you to Sherwood Forest for Robin Hood and The Hawth’s Amphitheatre will stage the Dickens classic Great Expectations, Shakespeare’s romance Romeo & Juliet and Austen’s masterpiece Pride & Prejudice. With great discounts when you see two, three or more outdoor productions, grab that blanket and picnic and make the most of the warm weather! Great theatre continues indoors too with Graeae, Britain’s foremost disabled theatre company presenting Signs of a Star Shaped Diva, a signed song and captioned performance full of frocks, fake eyelashes and true love. Later Chickenshed return to The Hawth with hard-hitting dance theatre, Crime of The Century about knife crime among young people.
Crime of the Century Loren Jacobs chair
Dance fans can also look out for Strictly Come Dancing star – the bad boy of ballroom Brendan Cole Live and Unjudged, with a show that is a feast from the senses, plus we have Strictly Tap Dance Fever offering a whistle stop tour of the greatest tap dance moments in show business and Ballet Central head back to Crawley with their 25th Anniversary Show.
Brendan Cole
The Tongues On Fire Film Festival is coming to Crawley for the very first time in April, showcasing three powerful and thought-provoking films that express the drive and spirit of South Asian independent cinema. Enjoy Hiding Divya, Ramchand Pakistani and Khudha Ke Liye free in The Hawth Studio and other selected venues in the town over three weeks. For full details, and to find out how you can host a screening yourself contact Hazel Ellis on 01293 438110.
All this plus much, much more including films, visual art exhibitions and fairs¬¬ are included in the brand new-look brochure, get a free copy by calling the Box Office on 01293 553636 or browse online at www.hawth.co.uk.
“Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to the Ifield May Day Fayre”
Games, prizes, fun rides, music, demonstrations, dancing, singing, performances, food and drink. And it didn’t end there.
For those who attended the Ifield May Day Fayre at St Margarets Church and Ifield Barn Theatre, you will know what we are talking about. The event was well organised with plenty of variety to keep everyone happy. It was lovely to see children laughing and enjoying such simple rides such as the Boat Swings supplied by a school in Crawley, made by the caretaker some years back. The church supplied singing from various choirs and soloists, all exceptional. With stalls galore ranging from plants to food from local farmers, there was something for everyone. The May Day queen looked gorgeous!
The day went without a hitch. Even though the rain fell sporadically, this did not dampen the spirits of all who attended and organisers alike. We were, as always, honoured by the presence of our Mayor Brenda Burgess and Councillor Bob Burgess who brightened up the day with their friendly professional personalities.
We would like to thank everyone involved for making the day a great success and a thoroughly enjoyable day for us all. We had such a great day, we didn’t get a chance to get all the names of all who took part, which we apologies for.
We took some pictures and video for you to see. We would like to give special thanks to Alan Burgess of Ifield who kindly gave us permission to use his great photos taken on the day.
We are unsure why the video in the church is so blurred, but you can still hear how beautiful they sounded, so worth a listen! Watch out for when we get new video equipment lol!
Crawley Community Arts is celebrating this week as they smashed through their target for the last quarter of 2009, encouraging more than 10,000 people to get involved in activities in Crawley for that period alone.
The team based at The Hawth Theatre is responsible for presenting many of the community events and exhibitions at The Hawth and running workshops and groups across Crawley.
In 2009 projects included highly polished performances by Pitchy Breath Theatre Company such as the new pieces Scratch and We All Stood Together, the Urban Sensations gigs which draw young people from across the area to see the top artists on the urban scene. The chart-topping, MOBO Award-winner Chipmunk made a notable appearance last year and this year Wretch 32, Scorcher and Saint will be performing in February.
Scorcher
Community Arts also enjoyed huge success with their regular club nights for people with learning disabilities and their friends, The Bluebird Club and record-breaking audiences attended the Black History Month Celebration last October as local performers and professionals took to the stage along with special guest Kezia Obama.
Female Transport Final
Crawley Community Arts also run weekly workshops, Crawley Youth Theatre, Hot Taps (tap dancing), Footloose Dance Group (dance for learning disabled people), Kids ‘n’ Co and Splash (drama groups for young people), Circus Skills Workshop Circuswurx and the Theatre Company Course for adults which presents its first show Female Transport in February.
Watch out for more from the team in 2010. For more information on what Community Arts offer contact Carolyn Murphy on 01293 438152.
On Saturday 3rd October, ’09 Crawley Happy Times had the privilege of attending the Celebration evening for the start of Crawley Black History Month.
In the foyer we were greeted by a couple of stands depicting various causes. On the first, we were greeted by Steve Innes of Crawley Fair Trade Group who are encouraging Crawley to be a fair trade town. You can see more on this here…
Steve Innes at The Black History Month event
Secondly, we met a couple displaying Senegal pieces from West Africa which consisted of hand crafted wooden objects which are ethically traded. You can read more on this here…
With an array of colourful outfits and smiling excited faces, the performers patiently waited backstage practising their acts. We decided to spend most of our visit behind the scenes, getting a insight into the perfomers and relishing in the excited anticipation. All performers, whether individual or as a group, were very professional and always happy to speak to us.
Firstly we spoke to Kelly Etchells who invited Crawley Happy Times to follow her on this wonderful journey. Kelly was accompanied by two beautiful backing singers, Angelina Treva Riley and Becka Jae and a team of amazing dancers. Kelly has a voice that is strong and powerful, lending itself well to any performance or style of music.
Next we met Amy. Amy is well known in Crawley for her brilliant renditions, mixing a strong singing voice with rap. This mixture of singing styles has catapulted Amy’s reputation as a well known artist, which we have no doubt will take her places in the future. Amy was accompanied by David on accoustics and a support rap artist Zeth.
Rishi was our next port of call. Rishi is a modest 13 year old local lad who has so much talent, I think it will take a few years for the full extent of Rishi’s talent to be seen in it’s glory. We first met Rishi at the Connect ’09 event in Langley Green. You can watch a video of Rishi on the Connect ’09 CHT write up, also on our Youtube account, The Crawley Happy Times. Rishi was sitting quietly waiting his turn to perform. We asked Rishi if he was nervous to which he replied “no”
Sharing a room with Amy, we met Aiesha who looked stunning in a beautiful white dress. Aiesha is a spoke word poet. Aiesha told us she teaches hairdressing at Crawley College but has been a spken word poet for a while but not in public or on stage. We wished Aiesha luck in her first performance, which she didn’t really need
Following the loud, atmospheric, ambient noise coming from one of the rooms, we popped our heads in to be greeted (in a very warm and inviting fashion) by the Diego Garcia Dancers. The colourful energy that exuded from this amazing group of individuals was electrofying. All beaming from ear to ear they told us they were very excited about performing. Later in the evening we snatched five minutes with Carolyn Murphy, Arts Development Officer, who along with her colleague Joanne Joseph form the Community Arts Team. Carolyn told us how much respect and admiration she had for this group of individuals after they had suffered such loss and how they had grown fruitfully in the face of diversity. Now that might be something worth looking into some more…
Finally we visited the last room which housed the local company, Stages Performing Arts led by Carol Black. All dressed up in some extremely gruesome outfits, the dance company were about to perform a rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. We left quite rapidly as it really was quite scary to be amongst them. They looked amazingly real.
We were very honoured to be able to speak to the performers from behind the scenes and hope we have given you an insight into the evening which was not portrayed by other media’s. We will let the videos tell you the rest, enjoy :-)
Crawley Happy Times would like to extend a special thank you to Kelly for inviting us to come along for the ride, and to Craig Sanderson who worked very hard on putting the videos together, and what a great job Craig did Craig is available for photography and video shoots, so please contact us for further details.
Billy Delaney aka Young-B is about to follow in the steps of others by re-instating Crawley on the map.
Billy Delaney's Music Award Certificate, Nov '09
Billy became known to most of us last year when he won the Laserhub Music Award at the Youth Awards 2008.
Andrew Snowden presents Billy with his award
We asked Billy what incited him to become a singer. Billy told us his influence mainly came from his family who were always playing music around the house. His Mum and Dad influenced him with various flavours of artists. Billy’s Mum likes to listen to George Michael, Usher, 50 Cent and Akon whereas his Dad is into his Scar music such as Madness, The Specials and Bad Manners. “My Nan was also a massive influence on me and encouraged me to get involved with music at an early age. Nan was also the one who put me forward for the award, which I am eternally grateful for” said Billy, adding that his Nan passed away shortly after.
Billy went on to say he originally attended Thomas Bennett school in Tilgate but after a bullying incident which involved a sharp object he moved to Ifield Community College where the Head Master, Dr. Lind, was a tremendous help to him and his future. Billy said “Dr. Lind is a great Head who was always there for me. He was always encouraging and extremely supportive”. Billy said drama played a massive part in building his confidence, teaching him how to express himself. “I liked the happy positive side of drama and even played Fat Sam in the Bugsy Malone school production”.
Billy left school in 2007 and decided to apply for a place at Northbrook Music College. After successfully achieving BTEC first diploma in music in July 2008, Billy then went on to take his music career very seriously. Along with some college friends Billy performed at several gigs. By January they had all gone their seperate ways. Billy then met Chris Foster aka Mr Rampz who assisted Billy in preparing for his future. By the end of January, ’09 they had set down three tracks and are in the process of working on more.
In November, ’09 Billy won the LaserHub Music Award for his musical talents. Billy’s music passed on a positive message and vibes about knife crime prevention to the youth of Crawley. Billy told us knife crime was starting to become a prominent problem within Crawley at that time, so he felt compelled to do something positive through his music.
Young-B making his mark
We asked Billy what his plans for the future are now. Billy said “I have lots of plans for the future, but am taking it slowly. We here at Crawley Happy Times, would like to wish Billy all the best in his career. We will keep an eye on Billy’s progress and keep you up-to-date. Good luck Billy!
