With music, comedy, theatre, film, talks, street entertainment, events and more, a lot of which is free; this year’s Haverhill Festival is shaping up to be one of the best yet.
Kicking things off will broadcast Olivier Award-winning playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s exposure of entrepreneurial greed A Small Family Business from the National Theatre on June 12. Live screenings continue on June 18 with Antony Sher as Falstaff in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Henry IV Part 2.
Stand-up comics, including headliner Alun Cochrane, take the stage on June 21 to raise money for St Nicholas Hospice. Just like that, the laughs keep on coming when Magic Circle member Clive Greenaway stars in The Magic and Mirth of Tommy Cooper on June 22.
History buffs will enjoy a visit from controversial TV broadcaster David Starkey with The Tudors and Us on July 3. If you prefer your history to have a more local flavour don’t miss the Suffolk Family History Society talk on June 14 and the Haverhill and District Local History Group’s historical walk encompassing 1960s and 1970s Haverhill on June 26.
Musical highlights include The Everly Brothers and Friends Tribute, taking you back to the 1950s and 1960s on June 13 with hits like Wake Up Little Susie and Cathy’s Clown. There’ll be tributes to Hank Marvin, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis too. The Counterfeit Sixties on June 28 features music from more than 25 bands of the era.
Respected jazz singer Ian Shaw makes a guest appearance at The All That Jazz Club on July 4, joining house band the Hannah Horton Quartet.
There’s plenty of family fun at this year’s festival, ranging from nature walks in the town’s parks, World Cup football and the Wimbledon final live at the Arts Centre, storytelling at the library and theatre courtesy of Cambridge Touring Theatre’s Alice – the Musical at East Town Park.
Always a popular day on the town’s calendar, The Haverhill Street Festival returns on July 5, with the streets taken over by street acts spreading mayhem and madness.
This year the traditional Last Night of the Festival Proms at the Old Independent Church will be dedicated to former Haverhill mayor, musical stalwart and Haverhill champion Les Ager featuring a programme of his favourite music.
Other events include the Travelling Treasury, June 14; Saving The 70s, June 14; Festival Quiz Night, June 15; Calvary, June 17; giant jumble sale, June 21; There’ll Always Be An England, June 23; Pantani – The Accidental Death of a Cyclist, June 23; Millfields Way Nature Walk, June 24; Haverhalf Film, June 29; The Love Punch, June 30; YSL, June 30; Wildlife Oasis, July 1 and Tracks, July 2;
For full details of what’s on where, download the brochure at www.haverhill-tc.gov.uk
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