Tag Archives: Winchester Film Festival

Win Guide to November

Remember, remember, it’s time for a Win Guide to November. From fireworks to film festivals, here’s our guide to some sizzling events in the city this month:

It’s the 60th Charity Winchester Bonfire & Fireworks on Saturday 3rd November. Starting at 6pm on The Broadway by King Alfred’s Statue, the torchlight procession makes its way through the historical streets of Winchester to the fields behind River Park. At 7.15pm, the Bonfire will be lit, and at 7.45pm you can enjoy the legendary Fireworks Spectacular. Visit the website here for more details or to book tickets.

The Winchester Film Festival takes place from 3 – 10 November. Enjoy feature film premieres and award-winning short films selected from over 50 countries, at venues across the city of Winchester. For a full programme of films including dramas, thrillers, documentaries and animations, visit the 2018 programme here.  To find out more about the Winchester Film Festival or to book tickets, visit the website here.

You Are Here! closes at the Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium on Saturday 4 November. Join the hosts of Wow Tours on an out-of-this-world immersive adventure as they attempt to put everything in its place – in our Solar System, the Universe and beyond! It’s a 30-minute show designed for children and their families. Be inspired to look up at the night sky and it could be the start of a lifelong adventure. For more details, visit the website here. And here’s a trailer:

On 7 November, there’s a special screening of War Horse in the Nave of Winchester Cathedral. Tickets are £10 (£7 for under 16s) available from the Cathedral Box Office 01962 857275.

The annual Christmas Light switch on, takes place on 15 November! Celebrate the start of the festive period and join Heart Radio’s Rich Clarke, who will be hosting an evening of live entertainment and fun, with the city’s wonderful Christmas lights being switched on by local Winchester heroes nominated by members of the public. The festivities start at 4pm and will end by 7pm (lights switched on at 6pm).

And whilst we are in the festive mood, the Cathedral Christmas markets and ice rink will open on 16 November. The official opening includes professional ice skating displays and music from the Cathedral Choristers along with the blessing of the tree. Following the Opening Ceremony, you will be free to explore the Christmas Market until 8pm.

Don’t forget to get booking for the Panto at the Theatre Royal which opens 1 December and runs until 6 January. This year, it’s Beauty and the Beast. Can Fairy Fifi bring Belle and the Beast together in time or will the evil Malevolent win the day? There’s only one way to find out. Visit the website here for times and tickets.

Speaking of the Theatre Royal, it’s a bumper month following on from the 40th anniversary celebrations since it was saved from demolition and re-opened as a performance venue. The one and only Nicholas Parsons will be starring in Just A Laugh A Minute on Saturday 3 November at 7.30pm. Book online here. The Winchester Musicals and Opera Society will be presenting Singing In The Rain from 7 – 10 November at 7.30pm.  Tickets are available here.

The Armistice Centenary Recalled takes place on 11 November at 7.30pm featuring Michael Pennington, Pamela Miles and John Miller. Exactly a hundred years after the Armistice marking the end of the First World War, this dramatic recital draws on the contemporary writings in poetry and prose to recreate the moods and passions of those involved at the time. For more details, or to book tickets, visit the website here.

Also commemorating the 100th year anniversary of the end of World War I, Scamp Theatre’s award-winning production of Private Peaceful is full of vivid detail and dramatic narrative, superbly brought to life by Andy Daniel. For tickets, visit the website here.

BBC TV wildlife presenter and cameraman Gordon Buchanan will be sharing insight into his incredible experiences with some of the world’s most fearsome and majestic animals on 12 November. Book here. 

If you missed our feature on the fantastic Welsh National Opera workshop for young people aged 10 – 18 years, you can read it here. The workshop takes place on 17 – 19 November. And, the Welsh National Opera cordially invites you to the World Premiere of the rip-roaring, uproarious musical comedy Rhondda Rips It Up!  The production takes you on an unforgettable journey through the life and adventures of that unsung heroine of the Welsh Suffrage movement, Margaret Haig Thomas, the Viscountess Rhondda. Tickets are available to book online here.

Fans of comedy will be delighted to hear that Stewart Francis, star of Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo and Crackerjack embarks on a brand-new show, Into the Punset on 21 November at 7.30pm.

Tickets are available here.

The Chesil Theatre will be presenting Honour by Joanna Murray-Smith, directed by Heather Bradford, 17 – 24 November. Honour is a provocative drama that challenges our notion of honour, our sense of decency and our belief that love will prevail. The Singer by Nick Joseph will also be hosted 28 November – 1 December. After the sell-out success of ‘The Railway Plays’ in 2017, award-winning writer-director Nick Joseph presents another foray into the absurd and the unpredictable with the story of a man, so cut-off from society that his name has become a musical note (so cannot be written). For more details and to book tickets, visit the website here.

On Thursday 22 November, Dr Vanessa Harbour will be talking about the issues writers face when ‘Writing History as Fiction’ as part of the University of Winchester Tavern Talks. Dr Harbour is a writer whose recent novel Flight was published by Firefly Press in August and was described by the New Statesman as “an adventure mixing horses and Nazis” which balances its “gripping plot” with “real-life inspiration”. She will suggest that, as a writer, she aims to create narratives that engage the imagination using voices that are unlikely to have left any written records behind them, as she tells the stories of the invisible characters of history.

Finally, The Kings Chamber Orchestra are on a journey exploring time and space on the road to Christmas, 24 November at 3pm at The Middle Brook Centre in Middle Brook Street. Under 3’s go free and tickets are £5! What did the shepherds actually see? Why? How? When? What has that got to do with the note “C”? What is the most dazzling music of all?All these questions and more will be considered through a musical journey with fun for all the family in our day time teddy concerts, presented with wit and spontaneity by cellist Gerard Le Feuvre. Bring a Teddy! Tickets are available here.

It’s going to be quite a month in Winchester. We’ll be bringing you more updates on Twitter @Win_Guide. Enjoy one and all!

Win Guide to October

Autumn has arrived in Winchester. Crisp mornings, chilly evenings and vibrant colour contrasts.  Once more our fine city has a lot to offer this October. Here’s our Win Guide:

Winchester Cathedral Harvest FestivalThe tractors are twitching, the pumpkins are plump – it’s harvest time.  Winchester Cathedral will be holding their annual free weekend of Harvest celebrations, 1-2 October from 10am – 5pm. Expect vintage tractors, falconry displays, farm animals, horse-drawn wagon rides, Hampshire Fare market and, new for this year, a grape and grain tent featuring local breweries and English wines. The whole event is supported by a number of partnerships, notably The New Forest Show, NFU, Country Landowners’ Association, Hampshire Council, and Hampshire Fare. Don’t forget to bring a brolly!

Pin Drop ComedyFancy a bit of standup?  Pin Drop Comedy in partnership with the Winchester Guildhall will be celebrating the first year anniversary of their monthly standup on 6 October, so expect a bumper night of it.  Running on the first Thursday of the month at the Wintonian Bar, Winchester Guildhall, entry is free and the Doors open at 8pm. The bar is open throughout and food is also available. The event is hosted by James Ross & Andrew Johnston.

10 x 10 new writingThe Chesil Theatre will be celebrating the dearly missed icon David Bowie in their 10 x 10 new writing festival.  From the sublime to the ridiculous, daring and curious, heart-breaking and hilarious,  10 new Bowie inspired 10-minute plays will premiere 8-9 October, 2.30pm & 7.45pm. Tickets are available to book here.

pinocchioThe Jasmin Vardimon company are coming to the Theatre Royal, 13-14 October with their new adaptation of Pinocchio. Visit the theatre website to watch the trailer or to find out about booking ticktets.

There are two festivals to look forward to this month.  The Winchester Poetry Festival returns 7-9 October. Workshops, readings and events will be taking place at the Discovery Centre, Theatre Royal and the Art Cafe.  For full programme details, visit the festival website here.

Silent SonataWe’re rather excited about the Winchester Film Festival, a partnership between the Theatre Royal and University of Winchester.  Films are only £5 to attend and will take place in unusual venues across the city.  Here’s a full programme:

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
Fri 14 October
BOOK NOW

Silent Sonata (2010)
Sat 15 October
BOOK NOW

An Inspector Calls (1954)
Sun 16 October
BOOK NOW

Under the Skin (2013)
Fri 21 October
BOOK NOW

Nashville (1975)
Sat 22 October
BOOK NOW

Johnny Guitar (1954)
Sun 23 October
BOOK NOW

National Trust Images/John MillarAn October couldn’t pass without mentioning half-term or Halloween and there are a number of ghoulish goings on to mention. There’s a Hallowe’en witches and wizard trail at the Winchester City Mill with prizes on offer as well as pumpkin carving, apple harvest activities, baking demonstrations and spooky storytelling. For full details, visit the schedule here.

Supernatural toursThere will be a family friendly Halloween ghost walk through the city on the 29 October at 6.30pm and an adults only version on the 31 October at 8pm. Advanced booking is available here. The Westgate museum will be getting its spook on with a horror spotters quiz, and will be open throughout half-term week. Admission is free. Winchester’s Supernatural tours will also be hosting their spooky tour of the city, 31 October, 8.30 – 9.30pm with live actors and theatrical shivers.

Harvest away, Wintonians and enjoy!

Winchester Film Fest

Attention film fans – it’s the sixth edition of The Winchester Film Festival from 15 to 25 October 2015 – providing a chance to watch classic films in unusual venues chosen to enhance your viewing experience. The Winchester Film Festival is an annual not-for-profit event organised by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Winchester and this year it is running in partnership with Winchester Theatre Royal. Proceeds from the screenings go to charity. You can book tickets here.

Festival programme:

The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD

THE GREAT HALL
Thur 15 October 7.30pm

Classic swashbuckling yarn, filmed in glorious Technicolor. Errol Flynn is Robin of Locksley, struggling to resore Richard the Lionheart to the throne. Basil Rathbone, Melville Cooper and Claude Rains also star.

 

Hobson's Choice
Hobson’s Choice

HOBSON’S CHOICE

RUSSELL & BROMLEY
Fri 16 October 7.30pm

David Lean’s charming Romantic Comedy stars the great Charles Laughton as the Victorian shoe shop proprietor Henry Horatio Hobson. John Mills also stars in this British classic.

 

Footsteps in the Fog
Footsteps in the Fog

FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG

ST JOHN’S HOUSE
Sat 17 October 7.30pm

Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons star in this atmospheric crime thriller. A cocktail of murder and blackmail, and a succession of thrilling plot twists all add to the tension.

 

Stage Struck
Stage Struck

STAGE STRUCK

THEATRE ROYAL WINCHESTER
Sun 18 October 7.30pm

Susan Strasberg plays an actress who heads to New York with hopes of becoming a broadway star. Henry Fonda and Christopher Plummer star in this story of dreams and sacrifice. More about this screening
Winchester Film Festival – Tickets

 

The Train
The Train

THE TRAIN

THE CHESIL TUNNEL
Fri 23 October 7.30pm

Burt Lancaster stars as a French railway worker who mobolises his group of resistance fighters in a bid to stop French art being shipped back to Berlin towards the end of World War 2.

 

 

Odd Man Out
Odd Man Out

ODD MAN OUT

THE CHESIL TUNNEL
Sat 24 October 7.30pm

Carol Reed directs this British film noir set in an unnamed Northern Irish city during republican unrest. James Mason plays Johnny McQueen who’s on the run after escaping prison.

 

www.winchesterfilmfest.com

Book tickets via the Theatre Royal Winchester.