insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 07 - September 2015 | Page 21

EVENTS

Sam Sweeney’s Fiddle // 9 Sep

Seven years ago Sam Sweeney, fiddle player with Bellowhead, bought
a violin in Oxford. It had all the appearance of a new instrument but
the label inside gave the date 1915 and the name Richard S. Howard.
Research revealed that the violin had been made – but never finished
– by a luthier and some-time music hall performer from Leeds called
Richard Spencer Howard. He had been conscripted in 1916 at the
age of 35 and two years later was killed during the battle of Messines
Ridge. His violin had been left unfinished in his workshop. Discovery of
the history behind the fiddle has inspired Sam to create a multi-media
performance telling the incredible story of the fiddle which took nearly
100 years to complete and to mark the 100th anniversary of the start
of World War I. Collaborating with award-winning storyteller Hugh
Lupton, fellow Bellowhead band mate Paul Sartin and acclaimed
concertina player Rob Harbron will bring the reality of World War I into
the present day.

Jesus Christ Superstar // 8-12 Sep

Jesus Christ Superstar exploded onto the musical scene in 1971,
stunning audiences and changing the face of musical theatre forever.
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera tells the story of
the last seven days in the life of Jesus through an extraordinary,
groundbreaking score. As compelling today as it was at its inception
over forty years ago, Jesus Christ Superstar has some of musical
theatre’s most legendary songs from “I Don’t Know How to Love
Him”, “Everything’s Alright” and “Gethsemane” through to, of course,
“Superstar”. Leading performer Glenn Carter returns as Jesus, a role
he has played in the West End, on Broadway and on film.
7.30pm (Thursday and Saturday matinees 2.30pm).
Price: £18.50 - £36
Congress Theatre, Carlisle Road, Eastbourne BN21 4BP
www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk / 01323 412000

7.30pm. Price: £15
The Hawth, Hawth Avenue, Crawley RH10 6YZ
www.hawth.co.uk / 01293 553636

The Great Gatsby
// 8-12 Sep

Immersing you in
the decadence of
America’s ‘Jazz Age’,
The Great Gatsby is
brought to life in this
sizzling new stage
adaptation from
nationally acclaimed
Blackeyed Theatre.
Recreating the sights,
sounds and feel of
America’s ‘Roaring
Twenties’ as seen
through the eyes of
Nick Carraway, F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s
masterpiece is a
brilliant evocation of
a society obsessed
with wealth and
status. Adapted by
Stephen Sharkey, whose work includes The May Queen (Liverpool
Everyman) and The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui (Liverpool Playhouse/
Nottingham Playhouse), this exciting new production features
fabulous live music alongside the timeless language of Fitzgerald’s
Great American Novel to create a truly fresh and inspiring theatrical
experience.

The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee // 9-11 Sep

The hilarious award-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee is coming to the Under Ground Theatre. Six
young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who
barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning
isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a
loser. The play is packed with crackingly good songs and tells the
tale of overachievers’ angst as it chronicles the experience of these
adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime.
The show’s creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals
about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders
for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out
and fit in at the same time.

7.45pm (Wednesday and Saturday matinee 2.30pm).
Price: £15.50 - £21.50
Devonshire Park Theatre, Chiswick Place, Eastbourne BN21 4BJ
www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk / 01323 412000

7.30pm (Saturday matinee 2.30pm). Price: £15
Under Ground Theatre, Grove Road, Eastbourne BN21 4TL
www.undergroundtheatre.co.uk / 01323 430077

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