Cornwall 365's October 2016 Top Picks

Autumn lovers rejoice – October is here, and with it come pumpkins, jumpers, woodland walks, boots and a whole load of lovely cultural stuff to keep you busy in Cornwall.

This month sees Story Republic in residence at Trelissick House to inspire and delight, a collaboration between painter and jeweller at the Mirri Damer’s Contemporary Jeweller, and a Wet Auction in Newlyn and some fantastic theatre from the Carn to Cove Autumn season.

Redruth will come alive for Inland Art Festival, the Newlyn Arts Festival takes over the town with art, music, dance, film and more, and the North Cornwall Book Festival hosts a magical three days of literature, music and workshops.

Finally we’ve included a taste of the spooky happenings for Halloween this year, Rogue Theatre transforming Tehidy Woods for the Dead of Night Dance and a special All Hallow’s Eve celebration at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic… more to come in our top picks for Half Term!

A Place to Write
Story Republic and National Trust
Trelissick House

21 September – 30 October

Brimming with history, anecdotes, characters, gossip and set in the most glorious landscape, Trelissick for the writer is like a trove of shiny trinkets to a magpie: to be gathered up, treasured and stored for future use… stop, reflect, be inspired and write your own response to your visit.

Each of the five writing stations has its own theme, inspired by historical fact, new stories written by Annmaria Murphy, Pauline Sheppard and Keith Sparrow, and artworks and artefacts created by artists Anthony Crosby and Laura Drayson.

Linger for a while; delve a little deeper and take inspiration to imagine a world of plant hunters and servants living in the attic who penned poems, love letters, and postcards home. Embrace Trelissick as a place to write.

Visit KEAP’s website.
Visit the National Trust website.

Sea and Sapphires: A Collaboration Between Jeweller and Painter

Mirri Damer Contemporary Jewellery, Falmouth

30 September – 14 October

A sensitive and stunning portrayal of the Cornish landscape by two of the South West’s most talked about artists, Mirri Damer and Hannah Woodman at Mirri Damer Contemporary Jewellery, Falmouth.
This exhibition is a snapshot of two creative practitioners responding to the very special environment that the landscape they live in provides. But actually it’s a much longer story, because it involves over a decade of distilled memories, experiences and imagination running in parallel through a friendship and culminating in two different creative disciplines: jewellery and painting.

Visit Mirri Damer’s website.
Visit Hannah Woodman’s website.

Wet Auction
Newlyn Art Gallery

Saturday 1 October

With more than 40 artists taking part, this is a unique opportunity to spot artists at work in and around Newlyn and Penzance, in recognition of Newlyn’s history of ‘plen air’ painting. Artists will be invited to leave their studio, equipped with materials and packed lunch, and spend a day working outdoors – with one even sailing to the Isles of Scilly and back!

By 7.30pm at Newlyn Art Gallery, buyers will have the opportunity to bid on the works created that very day, which may, in some cases, still be wet. Fast-moving and fun, the auction will be accompanied by music, food and drink from the Little Wonder Café and Studio Café Bar.

The artists confirmed so far include Sam Bassett , Ali Corder, Mary Crocket, Naomi Frears, Anthony Frost, Catherine Haines, James Hankey, Becky Haughton, Bernard Irwin, John Keys, Jonty Lees, Michael Porter, Ben Sanderson, Jesse Leroy Smith, Marion Taylor, Shelley Tregonning, Jason Walker, and Lucy Willow, with more to be confirmed. You can follow their movements on social media using #wetnewlyn.

All proceeds will be going to the gallery’s programme of support for young artists from the region.

Find out more from Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange on their website.

The Bowie Lounge 2: Where Are We Now?

Saturday 1 October, The Poly, Falmouth
Saturday 8 October, The Old Bakery Studios, Truro
Saturday 15 October, The Guildhall, St Ives

A unique celebration of David Bowie in music, word, dance and art. From Space Oddity to his swansong Lazarus, stripped down versions of many of Bowie’s greatest songs are combined with readings, dance and live painting to reflect the astonishing creativity of his career.

The Bowie Lounge 2 features Keith Sparrow, Paul Drayton, Liam Jolly, Elaine Claxton, Juliet Walshe, Star, Paul Wadsworth, Timo Kaltio, Beki Cowey and Toby Seth.

“The original Bowie Lounge show in 2013 was intended as a one-off at the Poly in Falmouth,” explains Keith Sparrow, “but word-of-mouth and a glowing review in the West Briton by massive Bowie-fan Lee Trewhela led to a follow-up show at the Acorn in Penzance being sold out. Since then we’ve all had many requests to do it again, and with Bowie’s untimely death earlier this year it seems like the right thing to do. Toby Seth has come on board to add some musical depth, and we’ve expanded it with some new songs to keep it fresh. I’m at pains to point out it’s not a tribute band, we’ll leave that to others; but if you love Bowie’s work like I do I think you’ll get what we’re doing here. I’d like to think he would as well, come to that.”

Saturday October 1st – The Poly, Falmouth
Tickets £10 available from www.thepoly.org 01326 319461

Saturday October 8th – The Old Bakery Studios, Truro*
Tickets £10 available from Cornish Riviera Box Office
www.crbo.co.uk Tel: 01726 879500

Saturday October 15th – The Guildhall, St Ives
Tickets £10, available from Cornish Riviera Box Office
www.crbo.co.uk Tel: 01726 879500

An exhibition of Bowie-inspired artwork and music is also planned to be shown at The Old
Bakery in Truro from 5th to the 8th of October, featuring work from Bowie Lounge members and invited artists. Exhibition will include new artworks, music and film inspired by David Bowie.

Canvas & Rum
North South Theatre

Friday 7 October, Hellend Village Hall
Saturday 15 October, North Hill Village Hall
Saturday 22 October, Praa Sands Community Hall
Friday 28 October, Port Isaac Village Hall
Saturday 4 November, Marhamchurch Village Hall
Saturday 19 November, Carleen Village Hall

Set in the 1800’s, Canvas & Rum is a maritime theatre piece centred on the packet ships that sailed from Falmouth, and the life of an old shell backer who left his home in Kernow after a family dispute. This old sea dog takes on the duty of teaching a new shipmate the ropes on board the ship, but bad luck strikes and the vessel is forced to return to the home that had been avoided for decades.

Inspired by tales such as ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘Heart of the Sea’, but based on the historical figures and events in Falmouth, Canvas & Rum is a maelstrom of Shanties, sirens, superstitions and sea-sick sailors.

Tickets in advance: £8/£6. Visit the Carn to Cove website for more information.

Newlyn Arts Festival

Friday 7 – 23 October

Now in its tenth year, Newlyn Arts Festival celebrates the wealth of creativity in the village through music, poetry, theatre, film, craft and art.

The festival kicks off on Friday 7 October with a chance to get a first look at the ‘Homemade’ exhibition and celebrate the opening of the festival at the launch party – free entry, with a pay bar & DJ.

Homemade is an exhibition of film, photography, music, art and live performance at Newlyn Art Gallery between 8 October and 5 November. It explores themes of identity, memory and place, with new work from Callum Mitchell, Mark Jenkin, Michael Eddy, Rick Williams, Nina Royle and more.

Fathom Theatre bring Twelfth Night to life on Sunday 9 October at The Centre, Newlyn, pushing Shakespeare’s identity swapping comedy to its hilarious limits with intense hat swapping, plenty of laughs and at least one rocking pair of yellow stockings.

On Thursday 20 October, Newlyn Art Gallery host Seamas Carey vs. His Four Year Old Self, with a choir – Seamas Carey is supposed to be a composer but for a while he ran out of ideas. One day he found an old cassette tape in the back of the family car, on which he discovered recordings of himself as a 4 year old boy, telling stories and singing his heart out. The recordings were mostly nonsensical, but he knew he had to finish them, to fix and present them in some shape or form. Initially, this produced mixed results, but with the help of a 30-piece choir led by the experienced Vicky Abbott and directed by Aga Blonska, they have distilled these ideas down to 6o minutes of greatest hits material. Expect an evening of heartwarming and ridiculous songs, question asking, possible time travel, nostalgia probing and pure silliness. Suitable for anyone who has a child, has been a child, or is still a child.

Visit the Newlyn Arts Festival website for art, music, dance and more in the full 2016 programme.

Salt Road
Bagas Degol and Annamaria Murphy

Saturday 8th October, Liskerrett Community Centre
Friday 14th October, Porthleven Primary School
Saturday 15th October, Ruan Minor Village Hall
Friday 21st October, Millbrook Village Hall
Thursday 27th October, Mawnan Memorial Hall
Monday 14th November, Porthleven Primary School
Friday 18th November, Paul Community Church Hall
Friday 19th November, Mawnan Porth Village Hall

An evening of stories, music and song from writer Annamaria Murphy and musicians and composers, Bagas Degol, following The Salt Roads around the coast of Cornwall. Expect original stories and music about the sea and how it shapes us, those who leave, those who stay behind and those who come back.

Meet Cod Joliff, fisherman, who finds a mysterious diary written by his great-great-great Grandfather, Ebeenezer Joliff, when he went with his two brothers to preach in Tierra Del Fuego. Cod goes on an epic journey to discover the secrets hidden in the diaries pages. Come and find out who kissed like a limpet and what Caleb Joliff saw in an iceberg.

Tickets in advance: £8/£6. Visit the Carn to Cove website for more information.

The Shahnemeh: The Epic Book of Kings
Adverse Camber

Friday 21 October

Adverse Camber Dive into the majestic mythology of Persia: where supersized heroes and magical horses challenge the selfish demands of kings; where fathers and sons meet as strangers on the battlefield and, condemned by a femme fatale queen, a lion-hearted young man journeys through fire. The Shahnameh was written over 1,000 years ago and stretches from creation to the 7th century fall of the Persian Empire. Here, a hand-picked selection of stories are brought to life by dazzling performance storyteller, Xanthe Gresham Knight and the sublime, rhythmic sounds of virtuoso Kurdish Iranian musician, Arash Moradi, on daf, setar and shurangiz. Enjoy these treasured stories wrapped up in an intimate, enchanting and powerful performance.

Tickets in advance: £8/£6. Visit the Carn to Cove website for more information.

Inland Art Festival: The Future Project

21 – 23 October

Inland Art Festival 2016 presents The Future Project, a platform for weird and wonderful future visions for Redruth and beyond. For one weekend only, discover new art works, events and workshops for all ages in unusual locations around the town centre. Bringing together environment, architecture, music, performance and heritage, The Future Project is a great chance to see art from local and international artists, experience the creativity of Redruth’s community and get involved by making new things and taking part in the festival’s fantastic free programme.

On Friday you can explore historic Carn Brea in a bouldering workshop lead by Andy Whall, create a collaborative future garden with Sue Hill and enjoy an evening of talks and performances including Sam Conran’s Kabbalistic Synthesiser.

On Saturday, follow astronauts through Redruth for live performance, Basic Space, join Counter’s Manifesto Party, watch out for Liam Jolly’s buskers along Fore Street, and pass through REVOLTINTASTE before joining headliners Hedluv & Passman for B-Side, an evening of music and performance at Charlie’s Bar from 7.30pm.

Finally on Sunday, join the discussions about childhood at PEAR space then relax at the Regal cinema with an afternoon of screenings programmed by Inland & LUX, including works by Ben Rivers, Shezad Dawood and Abigail Reynolds.

Most events are free, but some should be pre-booked; visit the Inland Art Festival website for more information.

North Cornwall Book Festival

21 – 23 October

A magical three-day festival of literature, music and workshops in the unique setting of St Endellion on the beautiful North Cornwall coast.

From prize winning novelist Rachel Joyce (The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry) to the Scottish poet laureate Jackie Kay and Costa prizewinner Andrew Miller; from graphic fiction to heart-rending memoir; from history to travel; from biography to poetry: there is something for everyone in this intimate festival celebrating all things book-related. Come and meet familiar or new authors, and enjoy fascinating talks, discussions and readings from some of the country’s bestselling writers, as well as from the very best local writers featured in new, free ‘Cream of Cornish’ sessions. With a dedicated young people’s day, sofa stories and drop-in art workshops for children at the weekend, all the family is catered for.

For creative types, there are workshops for adults in producing graphic novels; poetry writing; short story writing; plus creating a notebook, all led by visiting professional authors and artists.

The festival music programme brings exciting contrasting concerts from Amadou Diagne and Group Yakar’s world music mixes smoky, bluesy jazz with Senegalese melodies and percussion. Wild Willy Barrett’s French Connection is back by popular demand, and Perranporth shanty band Stamp and Go accompany writer Gavin Knight in an evening of sea stories and songs.

In between sessions, browse the exhibitions and wonderful bookstall, or visit the bar, café and food outlets for mouth-watering hot food, cold snacks and cakes.

Tickets for most sessions are £6. For further details, visit the North Cornwall Book Festival website.

Dead of Night Dance
Rogue Theatre
Tehidy Woods

Tuesday 25 – Monday 31 October, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm

A wicked and wonderful Halloween celebration with theatre and adventure, thrills, frights, and delights where short stories play out on Mrs Logan’s stage in a ghoulish spook show! With a wild blend of imagination, magic and macabre humour, the Dead of Night Dance mixes live music, storytelling, dance and a twist of spectacle.

Follow a path through the woods and into the land of the dead… fancy dress is encouraged with free facepainting for those not already transformed. Dress for the weather, bring a cushion and a blanket to keep cosy, and a torch for the night time performances to help you find your way through the trees. Trying the hot, delicious vegetable stew from a bubbling cauldron is a must!

The Dead of Night Dance is designed for brave adventurers of all ages. Ghosts, ghouls, vampires and witches are all welcome.

Tickets: £8.50 from www.crbo.co.uk/rogue
Visit the Rogue Theatre website.

All Hallow’s Eve at The Museum
Museum of Witchcraft and Magic

Saturday 29 October

Celebrate All Hallow’s Eve at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic’s third annual All Hallow’s Eve Dark Gathering. Expect dark morris dancing, a lantern procession, a visit by various osses who perform a traditional pwnco ceremony at the Museum door, fire dances and a candlelit evening at the Museum.

Watch a video of last year’s event, and find out more on the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic’s website.