Wickham Festival fans were treated to real rock royalty on the final day of a fantastic four-day event. Despite problems with the weather and the mud, the music lifted everyone’s spirits to make it all worthwhile. After three days of great acts, the final day saw the Zombies make...
Entertainment Reviews
Review: Wickham Music Festival, Day 3 – 5 August 2023
By Graham Hiley Wickham Festival fans were blown away – but by the music rather than the forecast gales. Winds of 40mph had been predicted along with thunderstorms and torrential rain ,and although there were a few heavy showers, the worst of the storm passed by the picturesque setting....
Review: Wickham Music Festival, Day 2 – Friday 4 August 2023
By Graham Hiley If you thought the Saw Doctors could not get any better than they were at Wickham last year, then think again! Singer Leo Moran told the crowd: “Last year was our first big gig back after six years so we were a bit nervous but we...
Review: Wickham Music Festival, Day 1 – Thursday 3 August 2023
By Graham Hiley Even the rain could not dampen spirits on the opening day of the Wickham Festival. There was a defiant party mood among fans determined to enjoy the music despite the days of heavy rain which left the ground soft and, in places, muddy. And their commitment was...
Review: Storming Bastille – PennFest, Buckinghamshire, Saturday July 22
Image: © GigshotZ – Chris Elliott. Words by Sally Churchward. It could, so easily, have been a wash out. The weather was definitely not on the side of festival-goers on the second day of PennFest in Buckinghamshire. Whilst the weather had been fairly kind to those watching the likes...
Review: The Verdict, Mayflower Theatre Southampton, July 19 2023
by Anita Foxall. The Verdict, Margaret May Hobb’s stage adaption currently at the Mayflower Theatre, takes you to a snowy Boston, where you will experience an intense courtroom drama. This take on Barry Reed’s novel from 1980, which was then adapted to film by David Mamet, starring Paul Newman,...
Review: Bastille – Bad Blood X Tour, Alexandra Palace, July 14, 2023
By Sally Churchward. Main image by Joe Horridge. Joyous Bastille Day celebrations came to London this weekend. Not with La Marseillaise and processions but thousands of people singing ‘eheu oh!’, ‘shut off the lights’ and an ode to Daniel in the Lion’s Den. It was a special occasion for...
Review: Let’s Rock, Southampton Common, 8 July 2023
Review By: Ian Howie-Lee & Catherine Collins – Photo Credit: Kate Hunter Photography Thousands of revellers once again descended on Southampton Common yesterday for the return of retro ‘80s festival, Let’s Rock, with headline performances from Soft Cell and Boomtown Rats. There were ‘80s costumes and neon galore, and...
Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Mayflower Theatre, 4 July 2023
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a National Theatre production based on the best-selling novel of the same name by local author Neil Gaiman. The show premiered in 2019 but this is its first national tour (delayed due to the Covid pandemic). The book was released...
For the Queer Joy of it
By Alex Thurley-Ratcliff. Image of Ri Baroche at Art House show by Anita Foxall. ArtfulScribe, that provoker and promoter of writers and writing in Hampshire and Dorset, recently enticed me into their workshops on Queer Joy. It’s not a phrase I had heard before; growing up in an...