This month sees the launch of a major new art exhibition at the Higgins Bedford, the penulitmate Bedford Flea, Affordable Art and Local Produce market plus Vegan Streetfest, Extravaganza’s halloween cabaret plus the best live music, theatre, comedy, film and more…
Enjoy!
Thursday 6 October 2022
Theatre: NoMad
The Place Theatre @ 7.30pm
Tickets: Pay What You Can
Using her signature blend of whimsy and intensity, Nell Hardy’s solo show NoMad based on her own lived experiences is a poetic, dizzying journey through the dissociated mind of one woman who has fallen through society’s cracks too many times.
With devastating authenticity, disarming humour and, ultimately, hope, the show demands the question: who gets to decide what madness is in a society that treats people like this?
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Thursday 6 October 2022
3 St Peter’s @ 7pm
Tickets: £30/member and £25/non-member
An evening of six European wines, welcome bubbly with cheese pairings featuring Mark, from Cambridge Wine Merchants in Ampthill. Mark will be exploring some of the major European wine styles, what characterises them and why. In addition, he will give some practical advice for food and wine matching.
Thursday 6 October 2022
Film: National Theatre Live: Jack Absolute Flies Again
The Quarry Theatre @ 7pm
Tickets: from £12.50
A rollicking new comedy by Richard Bean (One Man, Two Guvnors) and Oliver Chris (Twelfth Night).
After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to win the heart of his old flame, Lydia Languish. Back on British soil, Jack’s advances soon turn to anarchy when the young heiress demands to be loved on her own, very particular, terms.
Emily Burns directs this spectacularly entertaining new version of Sheridan’s The Rivals. Featuring a cast including Caroline Quentin, Laurie Davidson, Natalie Simpson and Kelvin Fletcher.
Friday 7 October 2022
Comedy: Flanders and Swann
The Quarry Theatre @ 7.30pm
Tickets: from £16
Having delighted audiences across the globe for the past decade, the Rolls Royce of Flanders and Swann shows returns!
Join multi award-winning comedian Tim FitzHigham and BBC Radio 4 musical maestro Duncan Walsh Atkins* as they starch their beards and trim their dinner jackets, ready to bring you the wit and wordplay of those ingenious comedy songsmiths, Michael Flanders and Donald Swann.
Lifelong fans and the uninitiated alike will delight to see the boys breathe new life into the much-loved words and music of F&S, including all the classics, The Hippopotamus (Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud), The Gnu, The Gas Man Cometh and many more – plus a few hidden gems along the way!
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Friday 7 October 2022
Live music: Tyber & Pete from The Dualers
Bedford Esquires @ 7.30pm
Tickets: £22
An acoustic set from Tyber & Pete from The Dualers.
Friday 7 October 2022
Live music: Brass Funkeys
Bedford Esquires @ 8pm
Tickets: £10
Trailblazers in the new generation of UK brass bands, Brass Funkies hit Bedford Esquires this Autumn as part of their UK Tour.
Formed in 2011, this nine-piece collective has a unique sound forged from their strong personalities and eclectic individual tastes, whilst still paying homage to their New Orleans brass band roots.
The Brass Funkeys frequently appear on festival main stages (Glastonbury, Boomtown, Wilderness, Lost Village, Love Supreme, North Sea Jazz Festival) as well as performing at world-renowned venues including Ronnie Scott’s, Koko and now, Bedford Esquires…
Saturday 8 October 2022
Creativity: Beds Urban Sketchers: Pubs of Newnham Street and St Cuthbert’s Street
Meet at the Ship, St Cuthbert’s Street @ 10.30am
Free to attend
We are the Bedford chapter of a global group of Urban Sketchers who meet up once a month to sketch on location in and around Bedford. Each meet up, we explore a different place, with the mission to raise the artistic, storytelling and educational value of on-location drawing.
Plenty of beautiful architecture to choose from, and lots of features to pick out that you may not have noticed previously. You will need to bring something to perch on if you don’t want to sit on a wall.
You can get take out coffee and snacks from SAY on the corner of St. Cuthberts opposite the butchers and the post-sketch throwdown will be in The Ship at 12.30pm.
Saturday 8 October 2022
Live music: Saturday organ recital
St Paul’s Church Bedford @ 12 noon
Free entry with a retiring collection
The series of Saturday lunchtime organ recitals will be held at St Paul’s throughout the year. Why not come along and combine your visit with a light lunch or coffee and cake from our Saturday cafe? Admission is free with a retiring collection.
This week’s recital features Simon Headley from All Saints Church in Loughborough.
Saturday 8 October 2022
Children’s Theatre: Christopher Nibble
The Place Theatre @ 1pm and 3.30pm
Tickets: from £8
The guinea pigs of Dandeville love munching dandelion leaves so much that slowly but surely dandelions are disappearing from all over town. Christopher Nibble knows that crunch time has come when there is just one dandelion left – but will this plucky little guinea pig have the flower power to save the day?
Written especially for children aged two – seven (and their big people too) and told with Topsy Turvy Theatre’s own blend of energetic storytelling, handmade puppets, original music and stunning scenery, Christopher Nibble is an uplifting story of one guinea pig’s selfless undertaking to help halt the disappearance of the delicious dandelion forever!
Nirvana UK are returning to Bedford Esquires as part of the ultimate double bill featuring a tribute to Pearl Jam ‘Pearl Scam’ – the ultimate 90s grunge package on one stage on one night.
Saturday 8 October 2022
Music: The Rolling Stones Now
The Quarry Theatre @ 8pm
Tickets: £15
The band, in their 24th year, return to the Quarry Theatre, for a night of strutting, pouting & romping rock’n’roll!
The Rolling Stones Now were established in 1998 and since then have travelled the country playing thousands of gigs and events. They have appeared with The New Yardbirds, Geno Washington, Art Wood and on France TV with Jimmy Cliff.
Sunday 9 October 2022
Shopping: Bedford Flea, Affordable Art and Local Produce market
St Paul’s Square @ 10am
Bedford Flea’s independently run market continues to grow both in size and in popularity, and this month is no different. Arrive early to grab the best bargains and before any of the traders sell out!
Sunday 9 October 2022
Live music: The Skids + guests
Bedford Esquires @ 7.30pm
Tickets: £25
The Saints Are Coming (again)! Yes, The Skids are back in Bedford following their packed 2018 show at the Corn Exchange, this time in the more intimate surroundings of Bedford Esquires.
The Skids were formed in 1977 and after releasing an independent single the band were played by John Peel, supported The Clash in concert and then were signed to Virgin Records in 1978. Their first singles were “Sweet Surburbia”, “The Saints are Coming” and “Into the Valley” – the latter reaching the UK Top Ten in early 1979.
Monday 10 October 2022
Film: The Drover’s Wife
Main Theatre, University of Bedfordshire, Polhilll Avenue @ 7.30pm
Tickets: Season membership £69/day membership £5/free parking
1893, the Australian Outback.
The area is rough, the people hard-nosed, the law rather secondary. Here, women – and newcomers anyway – quickly become the pawn of men. Even Nate Clintoff, who is new in town to keep law and order, still has to fight for his place in the hierarchy.
Molly Johnson, heavily pregnant and alone with her children on a farm far from town, knows her place only too well. Nevertheless, she doesn’t let it get her down. She does everything to protect her children. Everything.
Tuesday 11 October 2022
Live music: Lunchtime concerts
St Paul’s Church @ 1pm
Free entry with a retiring collection (suggested £5) in aid of church funds
This week’s lunchtime concert at St Paul’s church, Bedford features Osman Tack, Piano. Free with a retiring collection.
Tuesday 11 October 2022
Drama Workshop: An Actor’s Toolbox
The Place Theatre @ 7.30pm
Tickets: £5
Bedford Drama Company are delighted to welcome veteran director Richard Moon to lead the first of their brand new season of workshops!
In this workshop Richard will work on practical techniques that will help you release your potential as an actor. Acting is just walking and talking after all. He’ll be looking at ways to help you walk the walk and talk the talk!
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Wednesday 12 October 2022
Film: Singin’ in the Rain
Cinema @ 3 St Peter’s @ 7pm
Tickets: £9/£10.50/£12
Singin’ in the Rain (1952) is one of the most-loved and celebrated film musicals of all time from MGM, before a mass exodus to filmed adaptations of Broadway plays emerged as a standard pattern. It was made directly for film, and was not a Broadway adaptation.
This sublime 1952 movie musical puts the artistry of Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and co on full, joyful display
Thursday 13 October 2022
Dance: Latin Dance Class with Carman
3 St Peter’s @ 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Tickets: £4 members / £7.50 non-members
Latin Dance Class with Carman at 3 St Peter’s Street. No partner required. Freestyle dance session following the class.
Thursday 13 October 2022
Drama Workshop: Monologue Roulette
The Place Theatre @ 7.30pm
Tickets: £5
Do you want to feel more confident holding the stage?
Try playing different characters?
Have a laugh?
Then come along to our Monologue Roulette workshop held in the theatre at The Place.
We will have a group vocal warm up and then split into smaller groups to try out the monologue you have been given in a lucky dip. At the end of the evening you will be given the chance to perform in the larger group.
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Thursday 13 October 2022
Comedy: Griff Rhys Jones: Work in Progress
The Quarry Theatre @ 8pm
Tickets: from £12.50
Griff Rhys Jones returns to the Quarry Theatre!
Join the star of Not The Nine O’Clock News, Smith & Jones, and Three Men In A Boat as he returns to the stage with an hour of stories, anecdotes, reminiscences and outright lies – all in the name of comedy.
Friday 14 October 2022
Live music: Dreadzone + guests
Bedford Esquires @
Tickets: £22.50
Fast approaching their 30th anniversary, Dreadzone are an unstoppable force who have long been, and still are, one of the best live bands around with a loyal and ever-growing fanbase due in part to their storming and energetic live shows.
“A feast of bass heavy dubwise danceability” Clash
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Saturday 15 October 2022
Some of the most well-loved British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries feature in a new exhibition at the Higgins Bedford on Castle Lane this autumn.
From Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden and Paul Nash to Elisabeth Frink, David Hockney and Lucian Freud, the exhibition brings together some of the biggest names in British art, and explores its history since the 20th century.
Changing Times: A Century of Modern British Art is the first large-scale exhibition since the post-pandemic reopening of The Higgins Bedford.
Read more: David Hockney and Lucian Freud shine in new Higgins autumn exhibition
Saturday 15 October 2022
Food and drink: Vegan Streetfest
Harpur Square @ 10.30am – 4pm
The Bedford Vegan Streetfest will take over Harpur Square, right in the centre of the town for the first time this month.
The event will feature live music, a vegan bar and a variety of vegan street food, artisan bakes, craft cheeses, handmade cosmetics, ethical clothing & jewellery, arts & crafts and charity stalls, all created by a handpicked selection of talented, ethical and sustainable businesses.
Saturday 15 October 2022
Music: A Century of Swing
The Quarry Theatre @ 7.30pm
Tickets: from £22
Join the UK’s hardest swinging band Down for the Count for “one hellova celebration of vintage music” (TimeOut London) as they celebrate A Century of Swing.
You’ll hear instrumental songs from the likes of Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller and vocal classics from singers such as Nat ‘King’ Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, all presented with Down for the Count’s own unmistakable brand of wit and humour.
Saturday 15 October 2022
Live music: Annual Come & Sing
St Andrew’s Church, Kimbolton Road @ 7.30pm
Tickets: Singers: £10 / Audience: £12
Singers Registration 1.45pm
Rehearsal 2.30pm – 5.00pm
Performance 7.30pm
Our Come and Sing is a favourite in the St Andrews’ calendar, offering a chance for singers from far and wide to join in music making, rehearsing and performing a work in one day under the expert guidance of conductor Ian Smith.
If performing is not your thing, why not come and listen to the results?
The evening will be introduced with a talk from Dr Lucy Walker, Director of Public Programming and Learning at the Britten-Pears Foundation.
Live music: Gemma Rogers + Annie & Geary
Bedford Esquires @ 8pm
Tickets: £8
Variously compared to Kirsty MacColl, Ian Dury, Lily Allen and more, the London post-punk indie artist’s debut LP is packed with her own authentic style of witty, talky, mischievous lyrics and catchy melodies from the perky to wistfully emotional.
Saturday 15 October 2022
Cabaret: Gothica Cabaret
Bedford Esquires @ 8pm
Tickets: £12
Extravaganza is back!
Presented by Bedford’s own glamour ghoul, Ginger Snaps, the show features a full length headline set by ‘funeral rock’ act The Dark who merge elements of 90’s hard rock/metal and EDM with a glam goth flare.
Ginger’s drag spawn Edgar Allen Hoe is back, joined by pole queen Amethyst Allure, award-winning drag performer Mild Peril plus a stunning and spooky performance by Kinetic Vibes Dance Academy.
Put on your finest for our legendary best dressed competition!
Sunday 16 October 2022
3 St Peter’s Street @ 11am – 3pm
Deposit: £12.50
A relaxing start to your Sunday listening to great music, enjoying delicious food in a refined location.
Sunday 16 October 2022
Until January 2023
Exhibition: Edward Bawden: Artist Plantsman
Higgins Bedford
Free entry but timed tickets required
Every day, influential British artist and designer, Edward Bawden, would spend an hour in his garden at his home in Great Bardfield before starting work in his art studio. Plants and gardens were one of the most prominent and constant subjects of not only his work but also his life.
Drawn exclusively from the Edward Bawden archive, explore Bawden’s lifelong love of plants and gardens through a wide range of his work, including early wallpaper designs, well-known prints, advertising campaigns and private commissions.
From the grand gardens of Carthage and the botanical gardens at Kew, to Bawden’s own gardens at his parent’s home in Braintree and his beloved one-acre plot in Great Bardfield, discover Bawden’s passion for plants and gardens across decades of his work, featuring pieces that have never before been on public display.
Theatre highlights by Paula Walker
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