Everyman Cinema | The Winchester Guide

That’s right Wintonians, the countdown to Christmas in Winchester is upon us. Let’s face it, our city is pretty good at embracing this season. Here’s our Win Guide to December…

Firstly, have you booked your ticket to panto at the Theatre Royal Winchester? This year’s festive treat is Beauty and the Beast. Oh yes it is. Audiences have been saying great things in response to the opening previews on Twitter and it’s going to be a corker. There are relaxed performances in the schedule and the show is recommended for anyone aged 3+. Booking details, times and prices can all be found online here.

Young Theatre fans may also enjoy a visit to Santa’s Christmas Party at the Theatre Royal Winchester on Monday 17 December. It’s an interactive family show for children aged 2 – 7 years with a chance to meet Santa at the North Pole and receive a gift! For details, times and ticket prices, visit the website here.

And here’s a trailer:

The Chesil Theatre is hosting A Fun, Funky, Christmassy Musical Entertainment Evening, led by Marcus and Pete Whitfield. Tickets are just £3, and it will be a fantastic social event to celebrate the festive season at the Chesil Theatre. Get ready for some funky festive frolicking fun.

The Waynflete Singers present A Christmas Fanfare at Winchester Cathedral, 8 December at 7.30pm. The programme includes Handel’s Coronation Anthems, interspersed with Gabrieli’s thrilling brass Canzonas, and Heinrich Schutz’s mighty setting for double choir of Psalm 100, Jauchzet dem Herrn. John Rutter’s setting of the Gloria provides a brilliant and joyous opener for the second half, which concludes with a selection of Christmas carols for choir and audience. Tickets and prices are available online here.

Christmas in Winchester wouldn’t be Christmas without a visit to the Cathedral Christmas markets and a bit of ice skating. There are over 100 wooden chalets this year, open from 10.30am until 6.30pm Sunday – Wednesday and 10.30am – 8pm Thursday to Saturday so there are plenty of opportunities to do some Christmas shopping over a glass of mulled wine or a hot chocolate. For the Cathedral Christmas and Carol service times, visit the website here.

Don’t forget to stroll to Kingsgate Village for Kingsgate Books & Prints, Cornflowers Gift Shop, P&G Wells Booksellers or Kingsgate Wine and Provisions. And there are many more hidden boutiques or purveyors of luxury items so get some walking boots and knitwear on. Chococo is a must for edible gifts, and we urge you to stop off for a hot chocolate whilst there. If you want pure vintage, climb up the hill to Stardust Years for authentic ladies fashion and accessories.

The University of Winchester Carol Service takes place 11 – 12 December 2018, 6.15pm & 12.15pm. Traditional carols and seasonal refreshments, as well as the contributions of students, staff, governors and, of course, the University Chancellor Alan Titchmarsh, all combine to make these events a suitably rich conclusion to the University’s calendar. The Service will be held at the University Chapel, King Alfred Campus, University of Winchester, Sparkford Road.

Winchester City Museum will be hosting a Christmas Family Make and Take craft event on 22 December, 10.30am – 1pm. There is no need to book and the event is free but places and resources will be limited.

It’s worth a visit to the Brooks Centre this year to enjoy some Christmas at the Brooks activities. Christmas Wonderland is open between 3 – 8 December. Watch festive films inside an Igloo or visit Father Christmas himself on 8 December. You can decorate a cupcake in Mrs Claus’ Kitchen on 15 December and, on 22 December there will be a chance for some Christmas Face Painting. For details, visit the website here.

If you feel like watching a good old Christmas movie on a big screen, the Everyman Christmas season will hit the spot. There will be a feast of Christmas feel good films on offer throughout December from the Sing-a-long Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Love Actually, Home Alone or the unmissable It’s a Wonderful Life. For times, dates and prices, visit the cinema website here.

The Railway Inn is throwing a Christmas party on 22 December from 8.30pm. Expect Christmas hats, mince pies, DJs, funk ,disco, friends, hip-hop, bass and anything else that gets a party going. To book tickets, visit the website here.

We’ll be bringing you more seasonal tips on Twitter @Win_Guide. Wrap up warm one and all and enjoy!

Keats Walk leaflet, Winchester City Council

It’s feeling a bit fresh outside, not to mention the cascading downpours of rain that edged their way into the ‘summer’ bank holiday. This can mean only one thing: summer is on its way out and autumn is making a comeback. The good news is that Winchester knows how to do autumn. Keats made us famous for it with his Ode ‘To Autumn,’ composed whilst walking in Winchester as documented in a letter to J H Reynolds dated the 22nd of September, 1819: “How beautiful the season is now. How fine the air — a temperate sharpness about it… This struck me so much in my Sunday’s walk that I composed upon it.” ~ Poetical Works of John Keats, ed. H. Buxton Forman, Crowell publ. 1895. You can follow in Keats’ footsteps on this 2-mile walk in what the Telegraph describes as a “win-win stroll”.

There’s plenty going on in September to tempt city-folk out of the post-sunshine blues. Here’s a selection from the Win Guide…

Presumably as a nod to Keats’ ‘seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness,’ Winchester is offering its inaugural Poetry Festival 12th-14th September. Predominantly based at the Discovery Centre, but with events happening at the United Church (Jewry St) and Winchester College, the poetry festival will feature the likes of Patience Agbabi, David Constantine and Brian Patten, among many others. The Wilfred Owen Association is sponsoring a commemorative reading event in Winchester College War Cloister, in which Michael Longley is taking part. Fans of Owen will be delighted to hear they can follow this up by visiting the Theatre Royal for the Blackeyed Theatre tour of Stephen MacDonald’s celebrated ‘Not About Heroes’ 11-14th September.

The Theatre Royal is holding its Centenary Gala on 28th September at 7.30pm with an evening of variety and film. The event is free, courtesy of the generous support of Lady Jennie Bland and the returning performers and creative team who will be offering their time voluntarily. Donations are welcome at the box office. And the National Theatre is coming to the Everyman cinema in Southgate Street on 4th September with the NTlive streaming of Euripides’ Medea, featuring Helen McCrory and directed by Carrie Cracknell. If Greek infanticide tragedy isn’t your thing, NTlive will also be streaming the Young Vic’s fastest-selling production to date ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ later in the month on 16th September featuring Gillian Anderson and directed by Benedict Andrews. Win Guide editor Donald Hutera saw the latter show live in London last month and tells us it’s “a steamy and emotionally stinging sensation”!

SC4M Festival 2014

To get you in an Americana mood don’t miss the SC4M 2014 Music Festival at the Railway Tavern on Sunday 7th September, 2-11pm. The line-up includes Danny And The Champions Of The World,  The Rails,  The Travelling Band and  Peter Bruntnell, with many more treats in store.

Be sure to catch the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition running at the Discovery Centre until 21st September. And, if you’re inspired to get snapping yourself, the Winchester Photographic Society’s new season commences on the 2nd of September 2014. One of the largest societies in the South, members meet on Tuesday evenings 7:30-10:00pm from September to May at the Performance Hall ( again in the Discovery Centre).

If you’re feeling in a back-to-school mind-set, why not take some French or Spanish classes with Language for Fun? Visit their free taster session in Hyde Parish Hall on 2nd September 8-9pm for a chance to try out a class and meet fellow students over a glass of vino or cup of coffee.

Finally, for those of you who’ve already doused yourselves in iced water and are still craving more action for charity, why not join the Winchester Memory Walk at the North Walls Recreation Ground on September 13th at 10am? The event is in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society, and participants can choose between a one-mile walk around the park or a more challenging six-mile stretch; both are pushchair and wheelchair-friendly. There’s a Zumba warm-up and also post-walk live music, entertainment, homemade cakes, tea, coffee and games. Later in the month get pedaling with Winchester 100, in aid of Action Medical Research for Children. Taking place on 21st September, this event offers an organized opportunity to experience a ride in the New Forest that passes through three counties and a number of stunning hamlets.

Given all of the above, it’s obvious that there’s no dearth of splendid and sometimes blood-stirring activities to keep us busy as we make the gradual transition to cooler weather. Enjoy!

The arts & culture guide for the city of Winchester in Hampshire.

The Winchester Guide

Tag Archives: Everyman Cinema

Win Guide to December

Ode To Autumn

The arts & culture guide for the city of Winchester in Hampshire.