10 things coming up in Worthing and Brighton including the Easter weekend

Things you won't want to miss!
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CC Smugglers

1 Easter. On April 20-22, Arundel Castle will become the scene of preparation for Richard The Lionheart, King of England, to embark on the Third Crusade in 1189. Visitors will witness demonstrations of Norman weaponry, armour, combat, battle tactics, archery and falconry as the King’s Barons and Knights raise men and supplies in the large tented encampment at the base of the fortress. There will also be a craft tent and have-a-go archery for the over-eights to enjoy.

2 Theatre. Worthing’s new Saints Theatre Group will present its second show this April after huge success with its debut production, Arnold Ridley’s The Ghost Train last autumn. This time, company founder Linsay Oliver will be directing The Wonderful World of Dissocia by Anthony Neilson, once again at the new company’s home, St Paul’s. Performances will be from April 25-27. Tickets from the venue.

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3 Theatre. Shoreham Wordfest offers a wide-ranging Shakespeare Celebration for 2019. After last year’s one-day festival, which followed three-day festivals in 2016 and 2017, the event is back to three days this year, with a packed programme running from April 25-28. Full details and tickets on Shorehamwordfest.com.

4 Music. With a sound taking in country, folk and blues elements, the CC Smugglers come to Brighton on April 18. Spokesman Will Hofbauer said: “Their debut album How High was released on March 29. The six-piece band hailing from across the UK have earned a reputation as a phenomenal live tour de force, earning them a reputation across a multitude of genres. The current single Well Well Well showcases one of many strings to CC Smugglers’ bow that features across the album How High. A barnstorming, banjo-driven track, it features the folk element of their palette which also touches upon Americana, country, blues and soul, all brought together on this album by the production which presents their live sound as honestly as possible – a true band of raw, high-octane live performers.” They play The Hope, Brighton on April 18.

5 Art. Yvonne Coomber’s All You Need is Love is the exhibition at ART5 Gallery Brighton, running from April 13-21. A gallery spokesman said: “Yvonne is a Devon-based contemporary artist. Her gorgeous wildflower paintings have captivated the nation. Her work is held in private and corporate collections worldwide. A deep-seated love of nature is at the heart of Yvonne’s work. Her paintings are a tribute to the wildflower meadows that surround her studio in the South Hams. These colourful, textured artworks – created using a mixture of oils, inks, glosses, glazes, fine glitter and gold leaf – capture a magic that fills viewers with joy and have guaranteed her a loyal following around the world. ART5 Gallery has been a proud supporter of Yvonne for the past decade and a key exhibitor of her work in the South of England. It is always a pleasure hosting her in Brighton, especially given her ties to the city. Yvonne studied philosophy and literature at Brighton University before studying fine art.”

6 Art. Worthing Museum’s exhibition Memory of Clothes offers the chance to explore the fascinating relationship between memory and clothes. It runs until Saturday, June 8. Worthing Museum and Art Gallery curator Emma Walder said: “Combining sculptural works and podcasts from artist Helen Barff and writer Suzanne Joinson, this exciting exhibition explores how memory and clothing can be linked in ways people had never before thought possible. The research for Memory of Clothes explores links between autobiographical memory and clothing through Worthing Museum’s extensive clothing collection and personal memories of elderly residents at Guildcare care home.

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7 Theatre. Shakespeare’s Lost Women (lower circle) promises a “wonderfully touching and perceptive comedy” about Deirdre Compton, an actress who has made a career playing luscious milkmaids, jesters and clowns while her mother plays Shakespeare’s Desdemona, Titania and Lady Macbeth. Unsurprisingly, they do not get on. See it live in the Connaught Studio, Worthing, on Tuesday, April 23 at 8pm. The piece has been written by Greg Mosse.

8 Theatre. James Nesbitt, Sheila Hancock, Clare Burt and Rachel Lumberg star in This Is My Family, a musical by Tim Firth in Chichester’s Minerva Theatre from April 20-June 15. Imagine you’re a spirited 13-year-old and you’ve won – actually won – a magazine competition to describe your family. The prize is a dream holiday for the lot of you, anywhere in the world.

9 Theatre. Hugh Bonneville and Liz White star in Shadowlands by William Nicholson at Chichester Festival Theatre (April 26-May 25). Celebrated writer C S Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, splits his time between an ordered domestic routine at home with his brother, Warnie, and the academic rigour of his dispassionate, all-male Oxford college. And then he meets New York poet Joy Gresham. When she arrives in England with her young son, Douglas, everything Lewis believed to be true about life and love is thrown into question. And a relationship begins which will take them both to the extremities of pain and joy.

10 Theatre. West Sussex theatre company This Is My Theatre are on the road with Macbeth, adapted and directed by company founder and artistic director Sarah Slator. They will be performing at Shoreham Wordfest on April 26 at 7.30pm at St Mary de Haura, Shoreham. They then play The Guildhall, Chichester on Sunday, May 5 from 4pm-5.30pm before moving on to dates at the Brighton Fringe at Preston Old Church (next to Preston Manor) (Saturday, May 4, 7.30pm; Friday, May 10, 7.30pm; Wednesday, May 15, 7.30pm; Thursday, May 16th 7.30pm; Friday, May 17, 7.30pm and 11.30pm; Saturday, May 18, 7.30pm and 11.30pm).

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