The final weekend of the 2019 Rye Arts Festival offers is serving up lots of mouth-watering treats.
On the Books & Talks menu, award-winning journalist Kate Bradbury, who was featured on BBC2’s Springwatch, writes about, talks about and practises wildlife gardening.
Kate has written Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything and The Bumblebee Flies Anyway. And she will be giving a talk at 3pm on Saturday September 28.
Kate’s message is that it doesn’t matter how much space you have available; you can do something to help wildlife and the environment.
On Friday September 27 the Jim Hammond Blues Band come to entertain the town. The band is fronted by Jim Hammond himself on lead vocals and plays guitars and piano, switching effortlessly from slide guitar to boogie-woogie piano. He is joined on stage by blues harp player West Weston with Orlando Shearer on bass and Loris Peverani on drums.
Rye Arts Festival is thrilled to welcome back Emma Kirkby with Dowland Works to sing and play early music from the English canon on Saturday September 28. Emma Kirkby is world-renowned as an early music specialist and is one of the UK’s finest sopranos.
And let’s look at what’s happening on Sunday September 29. The organisers of the Festival have decided that this date should be kept free for some of the very finest of Rye’s artistic talents!
The recently revived Rye Players, who have merged with the venerable Rye Shakespeare Company, are dusting off a short irreverent play called Shakespeare in Rye! Some people will remember the play being premiered around 20 years ago as part of the Secret History of Rye series of plays. Well it’s back with two performances at the Tudor Room at the Mermaid at 2pm and 4pm and, measure for measure, this is going to be some of the finest performances on the Bard you’re going to see all year. This play really is going to be as you like it.
And following the drama there will be a free Sunday Soirée at the Queen’s Head, which will wrap up the 49th annual Rye Arts Festival. Starting at 5pm the audience will be richly entertained by ecological, hirsute first hostess of drag Timberlina, accompanied by self-declared ‘jazz rebel’ and keyboard king Dr Aspalls, who looks strikingly like Phil Laws. They will be joined by a special guest chanteuse, the highly talented and youthful Rachel Cuming. Expect an afternoon of jazz standard and cabaret and a whole lot of fun!
For more details of these and all other events, check out: ryeartsfestival.org.uk/ or go into the Box Office at Phillips & Stubbs in Cinque Ports Street or ring 01797 224442.
Image Credits: Rye Arts Festival .