G4
with special guest Lesley Garrett
Join the original X Factor stars live on stage at The Festival on The Close with very special guest, acclaimed operatic soprano and national treasure Lesley Garrett.
Fresh from their ‘Back for Good’ Tour in 2016 the boys have recorded their 5th studio album which was released in February this year. ‘G4 Love Songs’ hit the top 20 in album charts just days after its release and has catapulted them back into national prominence with their inimitable blend of opera and pop. See the original popera stars live on stage at Rugby’s brand new summer festival.
National Youth Jazz Orchestra
NYJO is world-famous as a glittering showcase for the UK’s best young jazz musicians. Under the direction of Mark Armstrong, the orchestra deftly mixes established classics from the big band repertoire, new work by composers at the leading-edge of the art-form and special arrangements by band members. From a hard-swinging rhythm section to a raft of hugely talented young soloists, this is a band in fine form.
Tuesday 27th June, 2017
Comedy Night
with Simon Evans and Special Guests
Live at TFoTC with Simon Evans and guests
Join us for an uproarious evening of live stand-up comedy right here at The Festival on The Close as we welcome the one and only Simon Evans (star of BBC 1’s Live at the Apollo and host of BBC R4’s Goes to Market) to Headline this fantastic night. Simon is joined by a stellar line up of comedians including, Zoe Lyons (Compere), Gary Delaney and Winner of the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2017, rapidly rising star, Alasdair Beckett-King. With guaranteed laugh-out-loud moments from start to finish, from some of the best names in the industry, this really is a night not to be missed.
Laura Mvula
with special guest Passport to Stockholm
Innovative British singer songwriter, two time Mercury Prize nominee and two time MOBO award winner, Laura Mvula grew up in Birmingham. Mvula first sang in church and later with all female acapella group Black Voices. By 2008 she had formed and was composing for her own jazz/neo-soul outfit Judyshouse. Mvula has also directed various choirs. She is a graduate of the Birmingham Conservatoire and holds a degree in composition.
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
var content = ”;
$(‘.fw-team’).each(function(index, el) {
content += ”+$(this).html()+”;
});
$(‘.speakers-popup-content’).html(content);
$(‘.fw-team .team-url’).each(function(index, el) {
$(this).click(function(event) {
event.preventDefault();
event.stopPropagation();
$(‘.speakers-popup-wrapper’).fadeIn();
$(‘.speakers-popup-content’).removeData(“flexslider”);
$(‘.speakers-popup-content’).flexslider({
selector : “.entry”,
animation : “fade”,
slideshow : false, // Boolean: Animate slider automatically
startAt : index,
easing : “easeInOutExpo”, // Easing
controlNav : false, // Pagination
directionNav : true, // Next, prev
prevText : ”,
nextText : ”,
});
});
});
$(document).on(‘click’,function(){
$(“.speakers-popup-wrapper”).fadeOut(“slow”);
});
$(“.speakers-popup-content”).click(function(event){
event.stopPropagation();
});
});
Roll Over Atlantic
written and performed by John Agard
John Agard was born and educated in Guyana and came to Britain in 1977. He has won numerous awards internationally for his poetry, including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012, the Casa de las Américas Prize (1982), and a Cholmondeley Award (2004). His book We Brits was shortlisted for the 2007 Decibel Writer of the Year Award and he has won the Guyana Prize twice. His many collections of poetry for children and adults include Playing the Ghost of Maimonides and Travel Light, Travel Dark. He has also written Alternative Anthem, The Young Inferno – a spin on Dante’s classic for young readers, which was awarded the 2009 CLPE Poetry Prize – and Book, in which the Book tells its own story. He was the first poet in residence at the South Bank Centre in 1993, and has also been poet in residence at the BBC and at the Greenwich Maritime Museum.
Captive
by Motionhouse
Four dancers perform this exciting blend of dance, acrobatics and aerial work inside a large cage. Disorientated and shaken, the performers use their skill and instinct to survive in this emotionally charged and athletic piece.
“Motionhouse have raised the bar for outdoor presentation of contemporary dance – their highly inventive yet simple staging means that we have the opportunity to present dynamic and lively dance as part of the festival; audiences respond so well to the skill and quality of the work, even if they haven’t experienced dance in another setting before, and Motionhouse’s unique tone is a particular highlight in a very broad programme.”
Angus MacKechnie, Producer | Watch This Space Festival, National Theatre
Tuesday 27th June, 2017
Bubble Schmeisis
written and performed by Nick Cassenbaum
Bubbemeises is Yiddish for a grandmother’s story, a tall story, an old wives’ tale. Writer and street performer Nick Cassenbaum and his musicians invite you to enjoy a bubbemeises in the warmth of the Canning Town Schvitz, East London’s last authentic bath house. Amongst the steam and ritual Nick will take you on a journey to find the place he belongs. Schlapping through summer camps, barber shops and Spurs games, will Nick find what he was looking for? Bubble Schmeisis is full of intimate and personal true stories about identity, home and getting schmeised (washed) by old men.
Stomp
workshops with student stompers
See members of the world-famous percussion-dance-theatre sensation Stomp perform live at The Festival on the Close with student stompers.
Members of the touring company of Stomp will be performing extracts from their stunning stage show in our incredible Performance Arena. Stomp will have been workshopping with student stompers all day and the results of the workshops will also be presented live with student stompers performing with their mentors. The Festival on the Close is proud to welcome Stomp original cast member and casting director Fraser Morrison with members of the cast of Stomp.
Voces8
Twilight Concert
Join sensational vocal ensemble Voces8 in a late night concert to bring the 2017 Festival on the Close to a magical conclusion. In the historic setting of Rugby School Quad, this promises to be a truly memorable and uplifting end to our week of celebrations in this the 450th Anniversary year of the founding of the school.
Thursday 29th June, 2017
Louis de Bernières
with The Bookshop Band
Join the best-selling author of ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ in a unique recital of his work with the Bookshop Band. Who knows, we might even have a chance hear Louis himself play with the band on his mandolin.
A rare opportunity to hear some of Louis’ new poetry and songs as well as hearing about his life and work.
Tuesday 27th June, 2017
Piano Recital
by Oxana Shevchenko
Please join us for this very special concert featuring international acclaimed pianist Oxana Shevchencko playing a range of music from Beethoven to Stravinski.
Oxana Shevchenko is a graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, where she studied with Elena Kuznetsova and Sergey Kuznetsov. She is currently studying with Benedetto Lupo at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
Tuesday 27th June, 2017
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde film screening with live organ
performed by David Briggs
Internationally renowned organist David Briggs brings a spine-chilling late night screening of the classic gothic horror Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to Rugby with live organ improvised accompaniment. Prepare to be spooked in this atmospheric setting of Rugby School’s famous Chapel.
Tuesday 27th June, 2017
The Wright Business
Lunchtime Talk
In a lunchtime conversation, Francis Hopkinson, BAFTA award winning Creative Director, Drama at ITV and Literary Agent, Antony Harwood lift the lid on the business of commissioning, editing and realising award winning books, film and television programmes.
Antony Harwood was at Chatto & Windus publishers for six years as Publicity Director and then Commissioning Editor before becoming a literary agent in 1985. He was a Director of the Wylie, Aitken & Stone and Curtis Brown agencies before setting up his own agency, based in Oxford, in 2000. Over the years he has worked with a broad range of writers including Anne Tyler, Iris Murdoch, William Burroughs, Angela Carter, Alan Hollinghurst, Garth Nix, Dorothy Koomson, Peter F. Hamilton and Louise Doughty, whose bestselling novel, Apple Tree Yard, was adapted as a major BBC television series in 2017.
Monday 26th June, 2017
Monologue Slam
Student Performance
Join some Rugby’s best young actors in a celebration of the dramatic monologue. Who knows, you may see the next Redmayne or Cumberbatch here first at The Festival on The Close!
Monday 26th June, 2017
A Night at the Proms
Rugby School Symphony Orchestra
In the tradition of the world’s greatest music festival, members of The Bliss Sinfonia, Rugby School’s professional orchestra-in-residence and The Royal College of Music String Orchestra will join with pupils from Rugby school’s Symphony Orchestra in a celebration of popular classics.
Tate Talk
Lunchtime Talk
Join Samuel Jones, Head of the Director’s Office at TATE in a fascinating talk on the place art has in all of our lives. At a time when the arts are under particular threat in the UK’s education system, Sam asks us to consider the role that art plays in modern British society.
Wednesday 28th June, 2017
Festival Youth Orchestra
Student Performance
Join us for a very special concert conducted by Rugby School student Rob Arthur and featuring an orchestra of children from schools across the region.
Blind Sight
Student Film Premiere
Rugby School film students proudly present the world premiere of a new film, a thriller set in a boarding school not dissimilar to this one…
Wednesday 28th June, 2017
Flight Dance Show
Student Performance
Join us for a very special show as student dancers from local schools perform brand new pieces inspired by their mentors, the incredible Motionhouse.
The student dancers have been working with Motionhouse over the past few months developing new work to perform tonight.
Tuesday 27th June, 2017
The Big Sing with Voces8
Primary School Choral Showcase
Join hundreds of local primary and secondary school children for an explosion of choral music superbly led by the world-famous a cappella ensemble VOCES8.
Festival Youth Orchestra
Student Performance
Join us for a very special concert conducted by Rugby School student Rob Arthur and featuring an orchestra of children from schools across the region.
Blind Sight
Student Film Premiere
Rugby School film students proudly present the world premiere of a new film, a thriller set in a boarding school not dissimilar to this one…
Wednesday 28th June, 2017
Flight Dance Show
Student Performance
Join us for a very special show as student dancers from local schools perform brand new pieces inspired by their mentors, the incredible Motionhouse.
The student dancers have been working with Motionhouse over the past few months developing new work to perform tonight.
Tuesday 27th June, 2017
More talks, shows and other events coming soon, please keep checking for updates to our programme over the next few weeks
And the VFX Oscar goes to…
Multiple Oscar winning Double Negatives’ Head of Studio, Pete Hanson, sheds light on the explosive world of cinematic special effects and what it takes to be a success in the cut and thrust of the multi-billion pound film industry.
Founded with a team of just 30, Double Negative (Dneg) has grown to become one of the industry’s success stories and is now one of the world’s largest providers of visual effects for Film with facilities in London, Mumbai and Vancouver.
Recent work includes Ex Machina, The Huntsman, Alice Through The Looking Glass, Captain America: Civil War, Star Trek Beyond, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
The Wright Business
Lunchtime Talk
In a lunchtime conversation, Francis Hopkinson, BAFTA award winning Creative Director, Drama at ITV and Literary Agent, Antony Harwood lift the lid on the business of commissioning, editing and realising award winning books, film and television programmes.
Antony Harwood was at Chatto & Windus publishers for six years as Publicity Director and then Commissioning Editor before becoming a literary agent in 1985. He was a Director of the Wylie, Aitken & Stone and Curtis Brown agencies before setting up his own agency, based in Oxford, in 2000. Over the years he has worked with a broad range of writers including Anne Tyler, Iris Murdoch, William Burroughs, Angela Carter, Alan Hollinghurst, Garth Nix, Dorothy Koomson, Peter F. Hamilton and Louise Doughty, whose bestselling novel, Apple Tree Yard, was adapted as a major BBC television series in 2017.
SK Shlomo
Acclaimed beatboxer SK Shlomo, and his incredibly energetic show, is like nothing you have seen before – jaw dropping, inspirational and totally absorbing.
He has won global acclaim and worked with some of the biggest names in music including Bjork, Damon Albarn, Martha Wainwright, Basement Jaxx and The Specials. In the process he has continually pushed the boundaries of beatboxing, bringing the art form to new and unexpected audiences. Shlomo has also won the World Loopstation Championships in Los Angeles, been an Artist in Residence at London’s Southbank Centre and was nominated at the `British Composer Awards’ for his piece for the National Youth Choir.