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WemTown Hallprogramme February–April 2011

Hello and Welcome2010 was a very busy year at Wem TownHall, and 2011 is set to be even busier. Wewill continue to host a mixture of cinema,music, theatre, dance, exhibitions andworkshops for you to enjoy.

Live event highlights coming up over thenext few months include Shropshirebased theatre company Pentabus in theircritically acclaimed ‘Tales of the Country’,Family Theatre with Wolf Tales, WorldMusic trio ‘Les Freres Guissé’, ballroomand sequence dancing, and Bayou Secokicking off the start of a Fiddle Festival atWem Town Hall.

The cinema programme is alsoexpanding to include more Friday andSaturday screenings as well as the regularThursday film night. We hope you findthe mixture of popular, family and off thebeaten track films interesting and we arehappy to take suggestions of films thatyou would like us to show. Once again weare a part of Borderlines Film Festival overMarch and April showing Black Swan,Separado! and SoulBoy so make sure youlook out for those in the film section.

March marks our 1st Birthday and we willbe celebrating for the whole month!There is a complete mixture of eventswith a Fun Day on the 19th Marchincluding a painting demonstration byWem Art Society, Gaming with the wiiand a free screening of Andrew LloydWebber’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’.

Along with the arts and learningprogramme, we are a hive of activity andhost the weekly market every Thursday, aswell as private hires, community events,business meetings and conferences.

Our café/bar is open Monday to Saturdayand provides a warm welcome to allvisitors. With free wi-fi access, these lightand airy surroundings are the perfectplace to meet up, relax, eat, drink andshare. Our locally sourced menu offershomemade and high quality dishes ataffordable prices and we offer specialitycoffees, teas and soft drinks, along with arange of local beers and wine. We alsooffer a high quality selection of buffetoptions, suitable for meetings and specialevents, on and off-site.

The Café is open late on events nights, sowhy not try one of our meal deals beforeor after a show. We want you to relax andenjoy your visit so there is no rush….youare always welcome to take drinks intothe auditorium and we offer an intervaldrinks service too!

Our venue depends on the excellentsupport of volunteers, so why notbecome a Friend of Wem Town Hall? As aFriend you might like to help onreception, with publicity and programme,or steward an event? Why not get intouch about how you might be involved;we’d love to hear from you.

And finally if you’d like to keep up to dateabout everything that’s going onat Wem Town Hall join ourmailing list, email orpostal, by calling in atWem TownReception to giveus your details orsimply call us on01939 232 299.

WemTown Hall February–April 2011

FILM SCREENINGSUnless stated all films are priced at £5 Adults, £4.50 Concessions and £4 for 16’s and under.

Inception (12A) Thursday 3 February 7.30pm (148mins) Leonardo DiCaprio heads a stunning cast in amind-blowing psychological thriller fromdirector Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins,The Dark Knight).

Megamind (PG) Friday 4 February 7pm, Saturday 5 February 5pm (95mins)Megamind is the most brilliant super-villainthe world has ever known…and the leastsuccessful. An animated superhero comedyfilm produced by DreamWorks Animation (theShrek series, How To Train Your Dragon) andRed Hour Productions.

London River (12) Thursday 10 February 7.30pm (87 mins)British film starring Brenda Blethyn(Atonement, Secrets and Lies) and SotiguiKouyaté, which centres on the journey of aMuslim man and a Christian woman travellingto London to check on their missing children,in the wake of the 2005 terror attack on thecity. The two strangers come to discover theirrespective children had been living togetherat the time of the attacks.

Whatever Works (12A)Thursday 17 February 7.30pm (92 mins)American comedy film directed and writtenby Woody Allen, starring Larry David (CurbYour Enthusiasm) and Evan Rachel Wood.Woody Allen returns to New York with anoffbeat comedy about a crotchetymisanthrope and a naïve, impressionableyoung runaway.

The Chronicles of Narnia: TheVoyage of the Dawn Treader (PG) Friday 18 February 7pm, Monday 21 February 5pm, Tuesday 22 February2.30pm (113 mins)Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narniawith their cousin Eustace where they meet upwith Prince Caspian for a trip across the seaaboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader.Along the way they encounter dragons,dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriorsbefore reaching the edge of the world.

Moon (15)Thursday 3 March 7.30pm (97 mins)Highly-acclaimed British science fiction filmabout a man who experiences a personalcrisis as he nears the end of a three-yearsolitary stint mining helium-3 on the far sideof the Earth’s moon.

Meet the Parents 3 (12A) Friday 4 March 7pm, Saturday 5 March 5pm (98 mins)American comedy film starring Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller, the third instalment inthe Meet the Parents series. It has taken 10years, two little Fockers with wife Pam andcountless hurdles for Greg to finally get ‘in’with his tightly wound father-in-law, Jack.After the cash-strapped dad takes a jobmoonlighting for a drug company, however,Jack’s suspicions about his favourite malenurse come roaring back.

FILM

The Illusionist (PG) Thursday 10 March 7.30pm (90 mins)Awarding-winning animated film by FrenchDirector Sylvain Chomet (Belleville Rendez-vous) based on a Jacques Tati script. Set inEdinburgh and London in the late 50s, this is abeautifully animated, poignant, nearlywordless, evocation of the end of music hallas it is overtaken by TV and rock’n’roll.

‘Utterly distinctive and beguiling…The Illusionist is an intricate jewel.’ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

The Kings Speech (12A)Thursday 17 March 7.30pm (111 mins)Brilliant new British historical drama starringColin Firth with Helena Bonham Carter,Geoffrey Rush, Michael Gambon, TimothySpall and Derek Jacobi in a biopic aboutreluctant wartime monarch George VI. A hotfavourite for an Oscar – not to be missed.

Phantom of the Opera (12A)FREE SCREENINGSaturday 19 March 5pm (143 mins)Based on the stage musical of the same namestarring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum. Arollercoaster of emotion and melodrama, thePhantom pursues Christine but will her truelove Raoul win out?

MicMacs (12A) SubtitlesThursday 24 March 7.30pm (105 mins)Film by acclaimed French director Jean-PierreJeunet (Amelie, The Delicatessen). Billed as ‘asatire on the world arms trade’ it sees a manand his friends devise an intricate and originalplan to destroy two big weaponsmanufacturers.

Film Nation WorkshopSaturday 26 March 10–5pmAs part of Borderlines Film Festival we arehosting a Film Nation ‘Make a Film in a Day’workshop for young people aged 14 to 19years. The session is free and is open tocomplete beginners or those with someexperience. Film Nation is a Cultural Olympiadinitiative aimed at encouraging young peopleto make films for screening across the UKduring the 2012 Games. Limited places –please book early. Free Event

Black Swan (15)Thursday 31 March 7.30pm (108 mins)Part of Borderlines Film Festival 2011Anchored by Natalie Portman’s world-classperformance as driven ballerina Nina Sayers,Black Swan is a film about obsession that has itself been crafted with an exacting eyefor detail.

‘Black Swan is a head-spinning, unabashedlyhysterical psychodrama set in the back-bitingworld of New York ballet, and looks at theextreme lengths to which some people will go toattain perfection in their chosen field’. Time Out

FILM

Separado! (12)Tuesday 5 April 7.30pm (84 mins)Part of Borderlines Film Festival 2011Star Trek meets Buena Vista Social Club in thispsychedelic western musical, as Welsh poplegend Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) takesus on a pan continental road trip in search ofhis long lost Patagonian uncle, the ponchowearing guitarist Rene Griffiths.

SoulBoy (15) Thursday 7 April 7.30pm (84 mins)Part of Borderlines Film Festival 2011Featuring Wigan lads and lasses dancing inmassive flares to incredibly obscure soulsingles, SoulBoy seeks to do for Northern Soulwhat Quadrophenia did for mod. A coming-of-age drama set in the 1970s Northern Soulunderground music scene. Followed by a Q&Asession with film producer Natasha Carlish.

Where The Wild Things Are (PG)Thursday 14 April 7.30pm (101 mins)Innovative director Spike Jonze (Being JohnMalkovich) collaborates with celebratedauthor Maurice Sendak to bring one of themost beloved books of all time to the bigscreen, in this classic story about childhoodand the places we go to figure out the worldwe live in.

‘A visual and emotional tour de force’. Rolling Stone

Gnomeo and Juliet (U)Tuesday 19 April 2.30pm, Thursday 21April 5pm (runtime TBC)Animated film in part based on WilliamShakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Gardengnomes Gnomeo (James McAvoy) and Juliet(Emily Blunt) have as many obstacles toovercome as their quasi namesakes whenthey are caught up in a feud betweenneighbours.

Once (15)Thursday 28 April 7.30pm (85 mins) The Oscar-winning ONCE is the inspirationaltale of two kindred spirits who find each otheron the bustling streets of Dublin. One is astreet musician who lacks the confidence toperform his own songs. The other is a youngmother trying to find her way in a strangenew town.

‘A little movie called Once gave me enoughinspiration to last the rest of the year’. Steven Spielberg

Film-making and Animation WorkshopsRegular sessions for children, young peopleand adults. Details from reception.

Film ClubTuesdays 3.30–5pmFree cinema for children and young peoplerun in partnership with local schools. Contactreception for details.

FILM

Wolf Tales Friday 18 March 6pmA family show for everyone! Meet the Big BadWolf as he puts the record straight about thefairy tales he’s been in and why he has beenso misunderstood! He’s not mean, he’s notscary, he’s just a twerp who’s very, very hairy!A hilarious Pickled Image show featuringpuppets, film, and special effects. Suitable for ages 5+

Tickets: £7 Full Price, £4 Concessions,£20 Family Ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children)

Pentabus Theatre: Tales of the Country Thursday 24 February 8pmThe Shropshire based award winningPentabus Theatre tell the story of Brian Vinerand his family as they move from a terracedhouse in north London to a rambling grangein rural Herefordshire.

Inspired by his popular weekly dispatchesfrom the country in The Independent andbased on the wildly successful book of thesame name, Tales of the Country is a heart-warming chronicle of the pleasures andpitfalls that await a family from the citychasing a rural idyll.

‘Brilliant. Sparkles with anecdotes, good jokesand hilarious observations’. Daily Mail

Tickets: £9.50 full price, £8 concessions (if bought by 10th February). Thereafter: £11 full price, £9 concessions.

THEATRE

Live and Loquacious Open Mic NightFriday 11 February 8.00–10.30pmA bands night with a difference! Tempted totry out a few jokes on a live audience? Thinkyour band has got what it takes to get theaudience vote? Then try out your act at ourOpen Mic Night.

Guaranteed to entertain music lovers,whatever your taste. Come and support newtalent – you can say you saw them (just)before they were famous! Tickets: £3

Rosie Doonan and the Snap Dragons + support Friday 11 March 7.30pmRosie Doonan is a an outstanding youngperformer boasting a wonderfully varied

repertoire of beautifulsongs. With her fantasticband featuring guitar,mandolin, vocals &accordion Rosie performsa heartfelt & emotiveblend of songs everyonecan relate to – in her owncheeky and charmingnorthern way.

Live, Rosie is an exceptional performer –playful banter, beautiful songs and a trulyexceptional voice. Backed up by the hugetalents of her band, an evening with RosieDoonan is an evening you’ll be talking aboutfor a very very long time.

Tickets: Early Birds £10.50 full price, £9concessions (if bought by 25th February)Thereafter: £12 full price, £10 concessions.

Wem Art Society Group ShowMonday to Saturday until 19 MarchA group show featuring a range of paintingsand drawings from beginners to the veryexperienced. The society was formed over 34years ago and currently has 35 memberswho meet regularly in a supportive andfriendly atmosphere to work on individualprojects and to enjoy demonstrations frominvited artists.

Wem Art Society PaintingDemonstrationSaturday 19 March 10–12 noonYour chance to see Wem Art Society membersat work, speak to them about the exhibitionand learn about what they do and how youmight like to be involved.

The Garden Room 2nd April to 4th JuneIn the late 1800’s the renowned horticulturistHenry Eckford, moved to Wem, and here bredthe modern Sweet Pea. This achievement iscelebrated every year with the annual SweetPea Festival, held in July. Today, the love ofgardening continues to thrive, withallotments, home and community gardensbringing colour to the town. This exhibitioncelebrates this common-or-garden passion,

with our glass box gallery serving as a hothouse, germinating ideas to inspire bothbeginners and experienced gardeners.Supported by a series of talks and workshops.Contact reception for details.

GALLERY MUSIC

MUSIC

Bayou Seco Saturday 16th April 8pm Part of WTH Fiddle Festival, a series of three concerts celebrating the brilliance of the fiddle.Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie, aka BayouSeco, have spent a lifetime soaking up thetraditional music of Louisiana, New Mexicoand Arizona. Using a simple line up of fiddle,accordion, banjo and guitar they take theiraudience on a musical odyssey through theAmerican southwest, performing andreinvigorating long forgotten songs anddances with wit, warmth and style. Their love-affair with the folk traditions of the southwesthas already lasted thirty years, and it’s stillgoing strong. Tickets: £10.50/Concessions £9 (if bought by 2 April). Thereafter £12/ Conc. £10

Taiko Drumming WorkshopsYoung People Monday AfternoonsAdults Monday 7.00–8.30pm An exciting opportunity to try your hand atthe ancient style of Taiko drumming led by anexpert Taiko master, James Barrow.

Running until the 14 March, call 01939 232 299for more details. New course to begin May 2011.

Les Freres Guissé Saturday 26 March 8pmThe three brothers Djiby, Cheik and AliouGuissé originate from the Fouta Tooro area inthe North of Senegal. Their music is based ondifferent rhythms of the Toucouleur, such asthe Yela, but the Guissé brothers prefersaying that their music is universal, for allages and races.

Their music is beautiful and sensitive and wellrooted in the traditions of West Africa. Itfeatures poetic lyrics and close harmonysinging, acoustic guitars and a variety ofpercussion.

With two acoustic guitars and a djembé, thethree Guissé brothers mesmerize all theaudiences they meet. Djiby’s and Cheikh’svoices swirl around the melodic guitar lineswhilst Alioune quietly plays his percussions.

Tickets: Early Birds £10.50 full price, £9concessions (if bought by 12th March)Thereafter: £12 full price, £10 concessions.

Live and Loquacious Open Mic NightFriday 1 April 8.00–10.30pmTry out your act on a live audience or comeand support new talent! Tickets: £3

SPECIAL EVENTS

Box Office: 01939 238279 · Reception: 01939 232299 · www.wemtownhall.co.uk

Telling Tuesdays – Heroes and HeroinesTuesday 1 February 7.30pmYoung tellers shall be spinning stories ofheroes and heroines and with St Valentine’sDay just around the corner there may besome romance as well. Tickets: Free, donationsin aid of Help for Heroes accepted.

Volunteer Open EveningWednesday 9 February 4–7pm Without the active support of local people wewouldn’t be able to host the wide range ofevents that we do. There are lots of ways youcan help and we guarantee you will have funtoo! Perhaps you would like to be an usher,put your local knowledge to use by helpingwith visitor enquires, help on technical set upfor events, or lend a hand on the day to daytasks involved in keeping the buildingrunning. Drop in on the 9th have a tour of theTown Hall and speak to us about how you’dlike to be involved.

Table Top SaleWem Town Hall Community Trust Saturday 26 February 9–1pm To book tables or for more information please call 01939 232299

Wem Town Hall Birthday Bash MonthMarchWem Town Hall is celebrating its 1st Birthdaywith a range of events to suit all tastesthroughout March. Our Fun Day on the 19March includes a painting demonstration byWem Art Society, Gaming with the wii and afree screening of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s‘Phantom of the Opera’.

Mayor’s Charity Ball in aid of Help for HeroesSaturday 12 March, 7 for 7.30pmIn aid of Help for Heroes enjoy a 3 coursemeal, live entertainment and dancing. Therewill also be a raffle AND an Irish raffle on theevening! Black tie dresscode.Tickets: £27.50, book by Saturday 26th February.

Phantom of the Opera (12A)FREE SCREENINGSaturday 19 March 5pm (143 mins)See Film section for full details.

SoulBoy (15) Thursday 7 April 7.30pm (84 mins)Part of Borderlines Film Festival 2011Q&A session with film producer NatashaCarlish to follow the film screening. See Film section for full details.

Mayor’s Fashion Show in aid of Help for HeroesMonday 11th April 6.45 for 7.30pm startCome along and view Edinburgh Woollen Mill’slatest fashions for Ladies and Gents. Localbusinesses will also be present with a range ofaccessories and beauty treatments for you tocomplete that look! Raffle on the evening. Tickets: £5, all profits go to Help for Heroes.

The image of the Hoopoe bird denotes an eventhas been kindly sponsored by a local resident.

Large print versions of brochure and other information are available upon request, please contact reception.

To plan your journeyplease visit www.wemtownhall.co.uk

Access information• Access to the first floor can be gained

via a lift. • Wheelchair accessible toilets are available

on all floors. • Infra Red enhanced hearing headsets are

available for cinema patrons. • Induction Loop system operates in the main

hall and foyer. • Guide Dogs are welcome in all parts of the

building.

Parking informationThe nearest parking is located at the main carpark, adjacent to the Co-op, just off High Street.Disabled parking on site (limited) please bookin advance. Please do not park on Noble Street.

Wem Town HallHigh Street, Wem, Shropshire SY4 5DGBox Office: 01939 238279 (Tickets & Bookings)Reception: 01939 232299 (Information)www.wemtownhall.co.ukinfo@wemtownhall.co.ukOpen: Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 9am–4pmand for evening events.

Designed and produced by aquarium. www.aquariumgd.co.uk

DANCE

Street Dance ClassesTuesdays 8 February–22 MarchLearn street dance moves and build up aroutine in this energetic, invigorating andsatisfying class with our qualified tutor Misha.

Course Dates: February 8th, 15th, (1 weekbreak for half term), March 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd.Times: Ages 5 to 7, 4.45–5.45pm; Ages 8 to 11,6–7pm; Adults aged 12+, 7–8pm.

Course Cost: Children/Young People £21.00 for the 6 weeks, Adults £27.00

Ballroom and Sequence Dance Friday 15 April, 8pmBallroom and sequence dancing with livemusic by Steve Nicholls. Food and raffle onthe evening. Tickets: £4.50