THEATRE
The Importance of Being Earnest
14 June
RHS Garden Hyde Hall
Under a star-studded sky, surrounded by lush summer blooms, RHS Garden Hyde Hall, near Chelmsford, is inviting you to an evening out with friends and loved ones as they get ready to host outdoor live music and theatre evenings, held in the beautiful surroundings of the garden in full summer bloom. On 14 June, The Importance of Being Earnest takes to the stage. Everybody loves Ernest. Cecily and Gwendolen are both engaged to Ernest. The only trouble is he doesn’t exist. Or does he…?
EVENT
Foodies Festival
21-23 June
Hylands Park
The UK’s biggest touring celebrity food and music festival series returns to Hylands Park with headliners Blue, Westlife, and Boyzone supergroup Boyzlife, and the exhilarating Symphonic Ibiza Orchestra with DJs and live vocals. Watch MasterChef and Bake Off Champions, Michelin-starred and top local chefs cooking their signature summer recipes in the Chefs Theatre, and learn how to make show-stopping cakes in The Cake & Bake Theatre with expert bakers sharing their best baking hints and tips live on stage.
COMEDY
Ruby Wax
20 June
Chelmsford Theatre
After a complete sell-out first run in 2023, Ruby Wax’s rawest, darkest, funniest, and most compelling stage show yet, she returns to Chelmsford Theatre. Ruby says: “The original idea behind this show was based on the extreme journeys that I wanted to take in order to find an antidote to living a frazzled life. Along the way, I wanted to find meaning, peace, and happiness – the stuff we’re all chasing. However, after some transcendent experiences, I ended up in a psychiatric ward. Obviously, I didn’t find what I was looking for.”
ART
Lunar Lullabies
8 June – 6 October
Firstsite
Join Colchester’s own Jane Taylor on a celestial adventure inspired by her timeless poem, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Embark on a cosmic odyssey as this exhibition commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Essex writer’s passing and traces the fascinating legacy of the beloved nursery rhyme and its influence on modern-day comics and video games. Discover how science, art, and imagination have intertwined over the centuries to shape our culture and fuel our dreams of distant galaxies.
FILM
Casino Royale
4 June
Everyman Chelmsford
Absolutely is a big fan of Everyman’s ‘throwback’ events, and this reinvention of James Bond starring Daniel Craig is worth revisiting on the big screen. After earning 00 status and a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes poker game at Casino Royale, Montenegro.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Mia Davies
Until 28 June
Beecroft Art Gallery
In collaboration with MacMillan Cancer Support, this exhibition, hosted in Beecroft’s Community Space, is entitled ‘The Raw Face of Cancer—Photographs by Mia Davies’. Through photography and personal accounts, the exhibition explores the different experiences of 15 individuals affected by cancer. Mia’s photographs capture the pain of cancer but are also uplifting.
ART
Art Market
23 June
Bowl at Bond Street
Turner Art
TAP Galleries presents its first-ever “art market” in Chelmsford. It is the first event of this kind that TAP has hosted and features market stalls full of all kinds of art and live music. To celebrate, they’ve invited some amazing artists from all over the country to take part, including Joe Webb, Mr. Controversial, Gavin Mitchell, Mister, Alexandra Gallagher, Anna Marrow, Simon Kirk, The Seductive Stitch, Roo Abrook and many more.
Even better, every artist taking part in TAP Galleries’ Art Market will release an exclusive, limited-edition print at an unmissable price!
EVENT
First Light Festival
22-23 June
South Beach Lowestoft
First Light Festival
First Light Festival is thrilled to announce this year’s full line-up and event programme, which spans music, art and culture, comedy, science, and much more. The festival will return to Lowestoft’s South Beach on Saturday, June 22, and Sunday, June 23.
Championing local and emerging talent alongside many international artists with inclusivity and sustainability at its heart, First Light is making its name the ultimate showcase for cosmopolitan creative talent accessible to all. This year sees First Light shine a light and showcase a programme of incredible female-led talent, including headliners from across the music and entertainment industry with DJ and broadcaster Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, one of the country’s finest comedians Shaparak Khorsandi and award-winning poet Hollie McNish.
This year also sees their first partnership with Latitude festival, whereby one chosen act from those selected to perform on the New Dawn stage at First Light, will be given the opportunity to also perform at the Latitude festival.
As Lowestoft is the most easterly point in the UK (gaining the first light of the day), this year’s festival takes inspiration from the Cardinal Points to allow a strong focus on the location. The theme of north, south, east, and west will be threaded through the artistic programme, with a strong international line-up with a very cosmopolitan flavour.
