Upfront Puppet Theatre will finally be performing once again. July 21st – August 30th. Shows are at 2pm but please check performance days below. All shows will be socially distanced and we will seat you in your booking group “bubbles”. We ask that you enter through the big theatre doors at the back of the...
EXHIBITION CONTINUES UNTIL 8TH AUGUST The exhibition has paintings by railway artists who create evocative images of the railways of the past and these are combined with the unseen photographs by the late Trevor Grimshaw. Trevor photographed the rusting and abandoned trains, at the time when all steam trains were retired from service. Many of...
We're back.... Oh yes, WE ARE !!! Live puppet theatre performances return with a 3 day celebration of puppet fun. A unique double bill of shows each day - suitable for all the family. Tickets: £10 each £35 (family of four) per morning or afternoon session. Online booking link at the bottom. Please be aware...
Upfront Arts Venue is looking forward to kicking off our 2021 music program with a bang. We welcome back one of our favourite acts Rob Heron with his new duo for an intimate socially distanced seated performance. Rob Heron and Tom Cronin don’t care what genre you choose to put them in – western swing,...
Spring Exhibition by Green Door Artists 18th May – 27th June This exhibition celebrates a new beginning for the artists of Green Door after many months without an exhibition. Everything was planned and the exhibition hung in December, when we went into "Lockdown" once again. Ironically called "Green Shoots", this is definitely an exhibition of...
Featuring Paddy Rogan, Sam Robinson & Uncle Carbunkle. Traditional Folk, Acappella Song, Blues & beyond. Please come and support Upfront Arts Venue and the local musicians who have not been able to perform live for many months. This is a socially distanced seated event with a limited capacity. The theatre space has been rearranged to create a larger floor...
The Upfront Puppet Theatre Christmas production is "Puss in Boots". The show is based on the original French fairy tale. The father of the family dies and the oldest son inherits the flour mill; the second a donkey and the youngest son, Marco, inherits a cat! BUT this is no ordinary cat. Puss has magical...
12th November – 10th January The Upfront Christmas Ceramics Exhibition. A unique and diverse selection of ceramics.
PAINTINGS by PHILIPPA HEADLEY 29th September - 13th December I have spent many years hiking in the Lakeland Fells and walking along the Jurassic Coast. Whether I’m viewing a precipitous cliff top from the sea or gazing at a fell yet to be climbed I find wonderful opportunities to paint. This everchanging environment, eroded by...
A full circus in miniature. This is an amazing experience not to be missed, suitable for all ages. This unique collection of trick circus marionettes was saved for the nation by a Heritage Lottery Grant. It is one of the largest and most complete puppet circus’s in Europe. You will see clowns, jugglers, acrobats, tight-rope...
A DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS SUPPER EVENING Friday 20th December at 7pm Actor and writer Peter Macqueen will read excerpts from some of the Charles Dickens Christmas stories. Joy, laughter and perhaps a tear evoked by the mastery of the Dickens pen, will be brought to life by Mr Macqueen…….and of course it wouldn’t be...
Solo acoustic guitar & vocals performance. There is no doubt that after 45 years as a professional musician Martin is, right now, better than ever. Widely acknowledged as one of the finest acoustic and slide guitar players in the world, his interpretations of traditional songs are masterpieces of storytelling. His solo shows are intense, eclectic,...
5th November – 12th January This exhibition will feature work by Green Door artists celebrating their diversity and originality. The title ‘Kaleidoscope’ offers artists the freedom to approach their subjects using a wide variety of media and styles, and provides motivation and stimulus. Some may work from the word itself but others could choose to...
Ink Painting (sumi-e and suibo kuga) Calligraphy – Arts of the Brush EXPLORE THE MIND – EXPERIENCE SUMI-E A practical workshop introducing the techniques & methods, along with an overview of the masterpieces of this art form. About Irene Irene Sanderson is a painter, illustrator, printmaker and calligrapher, working mainly in ink and watercolour on absorbent...
The Three Billy Pigs production by Noisy Oyster is for children 3 years and over. It blends two classic fairy tales – The Three Little Pigs and The Three Billy goats Gruff. Noisy Oyster use beautifully crafted puppets, light hearted story telling, live music and a little bit of eco-awareness in a pig style. Event...
Kirsty is making a very welcome return. She was one of the first musicians to ever play at Upfront and she has returned several times. This occasion will be part of her 2019 Tour with fellow singer songwriter Ben Bedford, from America. “A couple of years ago, at 3 in the morning, two songwriters collided...
One of Africa’s leading traditional drumming groups, the Kakatsitsi Master Drummers from Ghana, combine with Mbilou, a ceremony leader, spiritual healer, musician and dancer from Gabon to present a unique fusion set. Mbilou is a ‘Nganga’ (spiritual healer / ceremony leader), musician and dancer from the Bwiti traditional religion of the forest regions of equatorial...
Painted images and photographs of a journey around Japan visiting beautiful and mysterious Shinto shrines – the greatest, the oldest, and the newest, enshrining a sun goddess, a mountain, a fox, the mythical founders of the nation and heroes of national modernisation. This journey along with conversations with Shinto priests, historians, ultra-rightist activists, atom bomb...
Anna Mieke is a singer – songwriter – acoustic folk musician from Wicklow, Ireland. She performs on guitar, bouzouki and piano; backed by 2 other musicians on fiddle, harmonium & percussion. Following on from the release of several live performance videos and studio-recorded singles in 2018 and 2019, Anna Mieke released her debut album “Idle...
We will hold you spellbound as we tell you a tale based on one of the 1001 Arabian Nights stories, told by Scheherezade to her husband, the Sultan. Meet the Genie of the lamp, watch Aladdin fly his magic carpet and see if Aladdin finally wins the hand of the Princess. Fully staged with lighting,...
David MacGregor Guitar Concert “IMPROVISED JOURNEY” ……Travel the World with Sound. Solo world-Jazz guitar concert and storytelling show in which David takes the audience on a journey around the world with sound. He uses a fingerstyle technique to play a mixture of original compositions and arrangements of world-renowned songs, as well as telling the stories...
A traditional marionette performance, based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen. A beautiful & lyrical production with Chinese flute music by Yue Guo. A nightingale sings and charms the Emperor, until a mechanical bird takes its place. When the mechanical bird explodes, the real nightingale returns to sing on its own terms. It is...
Experience the thundering, exhilarating rhythms of Taiko in a dynamic and captivating show, and gain a unique insight into the world of this powerful art form. A fusion of primal rhythm, energy, choreographed movement and infectious humour to captivate audiences of all ages and backgrounds… After years of performing at some of the country’s most...
Based on the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen. A stunning and original production, using a mixture of puppet types and special scenic effects which includes projected moving images and a revolving stage. Musical score based on Russian folk music. This adventure takes us on the river, to a magic garden with talking flowers, to a...
Concert guitarist and composer Richard Durrant makes a welcome return to Upfront. He will perform solo, instrumental Durrant originals, JS Bach and British Folk from his new double album Stringhenge on a guitar made from a 5,000 year old English Oak tree, his four string Uffington Tenor Guitar and a humble ukulele. The album Stringhenge...
We are very pleased to have Zion Train playing at Upfront Arts Venue as part of their 30 year live on the road anniversary tour. The band have played festivals and venues across the globe, clocking up over 2750 shows. They were one of the first acts to pioneer the cross over between Reggae and...
This production is based on a version of the story by Michael Morpurgo. The book illustrations by Emma Chichester Clark, were the inspiration for the scenery and costumes. Northumbrian musicians "Landermason", have composed the beautiful musical score. This version of the classic fairy tale about the mysterious piper who visits Hamelin town and leaves with...
Here at Upfront we believe this band to be on of the top Reggae Dub bands in the UK and we are so happy to finally welcome them to Upfront Arts Venue for a standing concert. Soulful UK Reggae in a Dubwise fashion. 9 piece band – Performing on custom built Reggae Sound System Resonators...
Following a standing ovation concert last year ,the duo are back. Ahmed Dickinson Cardenas is described as “a true pioneer” (Classic FM Magazine). The award winning London-based Cuban guitarist, is one of the finest performers of the Cuban classical guitar school. His sixth album, features Grammy nominee and fellow Cuban guitarist – Eduardo Martin. In...
In our Cinderella, Bert the mouse is turned magically into a unicorn to pull the pumpkin coach and take Cinders to the ball. The ugly sisters were played by both marionette and rod puppets worked from our puppeteers pit. Cinderella Gallery
A spectacular performance, involving a mixture of 40 rod and string puppets. Based on the Grimm's fairy tale, performed on a revolving stage, set in medieval times with traditional period music. This show appeals to all ages, both children and adults. Will evil be conquered by good? Can anything be done to undo a spell...
Our first show, staged in our original building and still loved today for its sliding wagon scenery, magic flashes bangs and accordion music based on traditional folk music. Our first show, staged in our original building and still loved today for its sliding wagon scenery, magic flashes bangs and accordion music based on traditional folk...
This production was made for our new and larger theatre using a combination of long stringed marionettes, from our two mobile bridges, as well as rod puppets worked from our puppeteers pit beneath the floor of the stage. Pinocchio Gallery
