Royal Opera House

Encore Screening

MacMillan Triple

Sunday 14 April
Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student Book Tickets

The Royal Ballet celebrates the breadth of Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s one-act ballets. Danses Concertantes, commissioned by Ninette de Valois in 1955, was MacMillan’s first major work. It is followed by Different Drummer, MacMillan’s complex and haunting balletic interpretation of Woyzeck, Georg Büchner’s play about a soldier’s descent into madness. The mixed programme concludes with Requiem, his 1976 work for Stuttgart Ballet, created in memory of its late artistic director and MacMillan’s friend John Cranko.


 

MUSIC

Sevenoaks Philharmonic present

Ein Deutsches Requiem - Brahms

Saturday 23 March
Pamoja Hall, 7.30pm
Tickets £17 | £16 concessions | £5 Students/U21s   Book tickets

Whilst Brahms was already established as a huge musical talent the first performance in 1869 of his great requiem setting for chorus and orchestra secured his reputation as one of the most important artists of the era. Ein Deutsches Requiem  (A German Requiem) was written in response to the death of his mother and as such is a deeply personal reflection of his love and loss. Though based on liturgical texts this is not a standard requiem for the dead but more a prayer for all those who mourn to the extent that Brahms wanted to call it  “Ein menschliches Requiem”  – A human Requiem.

At around 80 minutes (two halves separated by an interval) this is the longest of Brahms works and is performed here in the original German with Soprano and Baritone Soloists accompanied by Sevenoaks Philharmonic Orchestra all under the baton of our Music Director, Robyn Sevastos.


 

NT Live

Cinema

The Motive and the Cue

Friday 22 March
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £16 Concession | £10 Child/Student  Book Tickets

Sam Mendes (The Lehman Trilogy) directs Mark Gatiss as John Gielgud and Johnny Flynn as Richard Burton in this fierce and funny new play.

1964: Richard Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new Broadway production of Hamlet under John Gielgud’s exacting direction. But as rehearsals progress, two ages of theatre collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel.

Written by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and designed by Es Devlin (The Crucible), the Evening Standard award-winning best new play was filmed live during a sold-out run at the National Theatre.

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

Sevenoaks Swings

Monday 18 March
Pamoja Hall      7:00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked   Book tickets

The jazz music that has come out of Sevenoaks School in recent years has been astonishing.  Come and hear large contemporary ensembles, such as the Sevenoaks School Big Band and the popular choir ‘Chorus’ in our annual end of Lent term celebration Sevenoaks Swings.


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

Orchestral Concert

Friday 15 March
Pamoja Hall      7:00pm
Admission FREE but should be booked   Book Tickets

In this concert, Sevenoaks School’s three senior classical instrumental groups present and orchestral feast. Wind Band, under Simon Palmer will play Fate of the Gods by Steven Reineke - a programmatic work for symphonic band, was inspired by tales of Nordic mythology and Into the Clouds by Riccard L. Saucedo, featuring active percussion writing, powerful brass statements, and woodwind flourishes. Sevenoaks Strings, under Kathryn Ashwell will perform Gustav Holst’s St Paul’s Suite. Sevenoaks School’s Symphony Orchestra will conclude the concert with a performance of Leokadiya Kashperova’s Symphony in B minor, a work of pure genius by this lesser known late 19th century Russian pianist and symphonist. 


 

CHARITY

Sevenoaks School present

Musicals for a Cause

Tuesday 12 March
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Tickets £5   Book Tickets

In aid of Music Action International.


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

Opera and Choral concert

Friday 8 March
Pamoja Hall    7.00pm
Admission FREE but should be booked      Book Tickets

An evening at the opera with a selection of choral favourites.

This concert celebrates a rich variety of choral music, weaving together timeless choral classics and powerful opera choruses. Featuring four of the school's choirs, culminating with a performance of grand opera choruses and arias with the chamber orchestra. 


 

NT Live

Cinema

Vanya

Thursday 29 February
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £16 Concession | £10 Child/Student Book Tickets

Adapted by Simon Stephens, after Anton Chekhov  
Directed by Sam Yates

Designed by Rosanna Vize

Andrew Scott (Fleabag) brings multiple characters to life in Simon Stephens’ (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) radical new version of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.  

Hopes, dreams, and regrets are thrust into sharp focus in this one-man adaptation which explores the complexities of human emotions.  

Filmed live during its sold-out run in London’s West End, Vanya will be playing exclusively in cinemas in 2024.  

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk


 

TALK

Prof Lewis Dartnell

The Knowledge: How to rebuild our world from scratch

Wednesday 28 February
Pamoja Hall, 6.30pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked    Book tickets

Maybe it was a viral pandemic, or an asteroid strike, or perhaps nuclear war. Whatever the cause, the world as we know it has ended and you and the other survivors must start again. What key knowledge would you need to start rebuilding civilisation from scratch?
Once you’ve scavenged what you can, how do you begin producing the essentials? How do you grow food, generate power, prepare medicines, or get metal out of rocks? Could you avert another Dark Ages or take shortcuts to accelerate redevelopment?
Living in the modern world, we have become disconnected from the basic processes that support our lives, as well as the beautiful fundamentals of science that enable you to relearn things for yourself.


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

Chamber Musicians' Platform III

Tuesday 27 February
Recital Room   7:00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked   Book Tickets

Sevenoaks School has acquired a formidable reputation in the South East in the field of chamber music.  Regular finalists in Pro Corda’s annual national Chamber Music Festival for Schools, Sevenoaks School presents three evenings dedicated to music for the small ensemble and featuring the work of some sixty pupils in the school. 


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

Chamber Musicians' Platform II

Monday 26 February
Recital Room   7:00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked      Book Tickets

Sevenoaks School has acquired a formidable reputation in the South East in the field of chamber music.  Regular finalists in Pro Corda’s annual national Chamber Music Festival for Schools, Sevenoaks School presents three evenings dedicated to music for the small ensemble and featuring the work of some sixty pupils in the school. 


 

DANCE

Sevenoaks School present

Dance Show

Friday 23 February
Pamoja Hall      7:30pm
Tickets £6 in aid of Ocean Generation      Book Tickets

The dance show committee is a team of Sevenoaks school students passionate about dance. We have come together to put a collection of dance pieces demonstrating love for this art.

The performers have been choreographing and practising their dances since the beginning of the school year. We are excited to perform and showcase our hard work.  You will see a collection of student performed pieces that showcase a variety of dance styles, and shines a light on the amazing artistic talents of the dancers and choreographers among us. 

All proceeds from the show will go to Ocean Generation, an inclusive global movement that exists to restore a healthy relationship between humanity and the Ocean. We support their vision of a world where the Ocean is freed from human threats within a generation. 


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

Chamber Musicians' Platform I

Friday 23 February
Recital Room   7:00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked      Book Tickets

Sevenoaks School has acquired a formidable reputation in the South East in the field of chamber music.  Regular finalists in Pro Corda’s annual national Chamber Music Festival for Schools, Sevenoaks School presents three evenings dedicated to music for the small ensemble and featuring the work of some sixty pupils in the school. 


 

Royal Opera House

Encore Screening

Manon

Sunday 11 February
Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student Book Tickets

Kenneth MacMillan’s passionate ballet tells the story of Manon, who is torn between her desire for a life of splendour and riches and her devotion to her true love Des Grieux. This adaptation of Abbé Prévost’s novel embodies Kenneth MacMillan at his best, his acute insight into human psychology and his mastery of narrative choreography finding full expression in the impassioned duets of the central couple.


 

NT Live

Cinema

Dear England

Friday 9 February
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £16 Concession | £10 Child/Student    Book Tickets

A new play by James Graham. Directed by Rupert Goold

Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) plays Gareth Southgate in James Graham’s (Sherwood) gripping examination of nation and game.

The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can’t England’s men win at their own game? With the worst track record for penalties in the world, Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt, to take team and country back to the promised land.

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Rupert Goold (Judy) directs this spectacular new play.

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk


 

 

DRAMA

Sevenoaks School Theatre Company presents

The Odyssey: A Modern Musical

Monday 5, Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7 & Thursday 8 February
Sackville Theatre, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked Book Tickets

A modern retelling of the classic myth, with music and song to drive the narrative.

A stranger is discovered washed up on a shore, present day and immediately taken to a detention centre for processing.

They claim to be the legendary Odysseus, but they can't be. The hero of Troy has been missing for twenty years.  Are they really who they say they are? And, during the interrogation, will they remember their own story or the exaggerated versions from rumour and travelling bards? More importantly, what version of themselves do they want to remember?

A cast of 40 pupils, plus two live student bands will dynamically bring this recontextualisation of a classical tale to life, with a modern Greek chorus and immersive staging.

The Odyssey by David Farr, with permission from the writer to substitute the songs with modern and contemporary pop music.

A fun, uplifting and moving production about finding your way home, in the figurative and literal sense.

Running Time 2 hours 15 min, plus an interval


 

MUSIC

Music Showcase

Minimalism

Friday 2 February
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked   Book Tickets

The genre of minimalism which emerged in 1960s America has become arguably one of the most influential musical styles of the contemporary era. This concert will celebrate the pioneers of this movement, juxtaposing household name Terry Riley and his magnum opus In C with recently rediscovered genius and outsider Julius Eastman and his defiant work Stand On It.


 

TALK

Dr Jenn Mahon

Screen Time

Wednesday 31 January
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked    Book tickets

Jenn Mahon, PhD, a psychologist, educator, and public speaker, is the director of Proficient Parents, LLC, and Talking Sense Workshops, which teach parents, teachers, and children how to communicate effectively and invigorate their relationships. She began her career under Dr Dweck, the originator of the Growth Mindset model, and shows parents how to help children develop their strengths. She has provided in-depth training for hundreds of adults from 45 different nationalities, including parents and teachers in schools around the world. She also works privately with adults and children dealing with stress, anxiety, and relationship problems. More importantly, she has 4 children who like their screens, but who like to talk even more.


 

Royal Opera House

Encore Screening

Rusalka

Sunday 28 January
Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student    Book Tickets

Rusalka, a water spirit, lives with her family in the pure waters of the forest lake. When she falls in love with a prince, she sacrifices her voice and leaves her home in the hope of finding true love in a new world – a world that does not love her back.

Natalie Abrahami and Ann Yee create a poetic, contemporary new staging of Dvořák’s lyrical fairy tale, revealing our uneasy relationship with the natural world and humanity’s attempts to own and tame it.

Semyon Bychkov conducts an all-star cast featuring Asmik Grigorian (Jenůfa) in the title role.

Sung in Czech with English subtitles.


 

MUSIC

Come and Sing

Handel Choruses

Saturday 27 January
Pamoja Hall
Workshop 10.30 am and Concert 5.00 pm    Book Tickets        Concert only tickets/£10

Don’t miss this opportunity for singers to take part in a vocal workshop led by Jack Apperly, an experienced conductor who is known for his ability to get the very best out of choirs through his vibrant, energetic and enthusiastic style. We will be joined by Maria Forstrom, an outstanding vocal coach, who will work on our vocal technique to help us to perform to the very best of our ability. Throughout the day we will be singing a variety of Handel choruses from The Messiah and other works. 

Sevenoaks School is kindly providing a two-course lunch in the school’s dining hall at a cost of £10, and tea and coffee will be provided.
The day will end with an hour-long concert at 17.00 (£10 tickets are available) and the bar will be open from 18.00.


 

MUSIC

Music

Music Award Holders' Concert

Friday 19 January
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked Book Tickets

The music department is on a mission to highlight the achievements and contributions of overlooked composers in history. Engaging with music from a wide variety of backgrounds can help us to learn from different perspectives and have a richer understanding of past.


 

NT Live

Cinema

Jack Absolute Flies Again

Thursday 18 January
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £16 Concession | £10 Child/Student     Book Tickets

by Richard Bean and Oliver Chris
based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Rivals

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.
‘One of the funniest productions in the National’s history.’ Guardian on One Man, Two Guvnors

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk


 

MUSIC

Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra

Featuring Nicola Benedetti

Sunday 14 January
Pamoja Hall, 3.00pm
Tickets £35     Book tickets

Programme:

FAURE - Suite from Pelleas et Melisande, Op. 80

BRUCH - Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46

DVORAK - Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88

Roderick Dunk - Conductor


MUSIC

Down for the Count presents

A Century of Swing

Saturday 13 January
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Tickets £25 | Student 18 and over £18 | Under 18 £14      Book Tickets

Join the UK’s hardest swinging band Down for the Count All-Stars for “one hellova celebration of vintage music” (TimeOut London) as they celebrate  A Century of Swing.

Described as “a breath of fresh air on the swing scene”, Down for the Count are regularly found in jazz clubs across the UK and abroad (Ronnie Scott’s London, Le Caveau de la Huchette Paris), at festivals including London Jazz Festival, and on BBC Radio. Now they are bringing the sounds and feels of the best jazz clubs to theatres around the country – with an electrifying show full of incredible energy, musicianship, and their own signature wry wit and humour.

Down for the Count’s new show celebrates A Century of Swing. The band take you on a whistle-stop tour of the best swing music, tracing the origins of the style from 1920s America through to the genre’s heyday in the 30s, 40s and 50s. The band will also perform their own original arrangements of classic jazz standards featured on their new album, Just You, Just Me, bringing swing music right up to date.

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 witticisms.

“Awesome!!!” - Michael Bublé

www.dftcswingorchestra.co.uk

Patrons are welcome to bring their own beverages to The Space for this performance.


 

CHARITY SHOW

For Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees

Talent Show

Friday 12 January
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Tickets £7       Book Tickets

Evening talent show consisting of variety acts. All proceeds going to local charities, Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees. Organised by the Refugee Partnership Group.


 

TALK

Amy Baker

Sevenoaks Summit on Human Gene Editing

Thursday 11 January
Pamoja Hall, 6.30pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked    Book tickets

Student led talk and panel discussion featuring Amy Baker and inspired by the International Summit on Human Gene Editing.


 

MUSIC

The Lydian Orchestra present

Winter Concert

Wednesday 20 December
Pamoja Hall 7.30pm
Tickets £15 | Students 18 and over £6 | Under 18 £1    Book tickets  Email 

Whilst the main firework season is over, the Lydian Orchestra will bring some pianistic and orchestral fireworks to the Pamoja Hall with the star of the show, 20-year-old Xinge (Grace) Dong. An outstanding pianist and winner of the 2023 Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year, who will be tackling Liszt’s spectacular first Piano Concerto.

In addition, the Orchestra will perform Ralph Vaughan Williams' much-loved Tallis Fantasia for double string orchestra and solo quartet (currently ranked 3rd in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame). Also in the programme is Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments;  and two orchestral showpieces inspired by the warm sounds and colours of Southern Europe: Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, and Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien - just the tonic for a cold Winter evening.

The Orchestra, whose current members are all aged 14–25, is delighted to welcome back a number of former members to form an ensemble of the size and strength required by the exciting repertoire.  The concert will be conducted by the Orchestra’s long-standing Music Director, Brynly Clarke.

To book tickets by telephone, call 01732467765.


 

MUSIC

Eynsford Concert Band present

The Spirit of Christmas

Sunday 17 December
Pamoja Hall, 4.00pm
Tickets £14 | Under 16 FREE    Book tickets 

Eynsford Concert Band are delighted to be joined by Kent Youth Wind Orchestra for this year’s Christmas Concert.

Kent Youth Wind Orchestra (KYWO) was formed in 1976 with the aim of providing talented wind, brass and percussion players with the opportunity to extend their performance skills at county level.  KYWO has provided a concert platform for thousands of players over the years and has performed at numerous major concert venues in the United Kingdom and abroad.  The ensemble averages 50 players who live in Kent and range from age 11 to 19,  a number of whom regularly play in Eynsford Concert Band as members of our Young Musicians Academy.  

Directed by Mike Smith and Lt. Col. Craig Hallatt, please join us for a joyous selection of Christmas favourites, poor cracker jokes and seasonal celebrations to get you fully into The Spirit of Christmas!

This year’s concert will be in support of Barnardo’s – Eynsford Concert Band’s chosen charity of the year.


 

Royal Opera House

Encore Screening

The Nutcracker

Saturday 16 December
Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student     Book Tickets

Julia Trevelyan Oman’s period designs bring festive charm to Peter Wright’s beloved Royal Ballet production, as fairytale magic comes together with spectacular dancing in this unforgettable classic ballet.


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

Crash into Christmas

Friday 8 December
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked    Book Tickets

This is the event where the Sevenoaks School jazz ensembles lead our celebrations of the coming festive season.

Groups involved include the Big Band, the Middle School Jazz Band and Chorus as well as other quartets and jazz combos, directed by Mr Beston.


 

DRAMA

Sevenoaks School Theatre Company presents

Antigone

Tuesday 5, Wednesday 6 & Thursday 7 December
Ordovsky-Tanaevsky Drama Studio, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked
 Book Tickets

Jean Anouilh’s ‘Antigone’ is a visionary play about the nature of power and freedom, based on Sophocles’ Greek tragedy.

After a civil war, King Creon refuses to bury Antigone’s brother, Polynices — and threatens death to anyone who tries.

Without proper burial, Polynices’ soul will not find rest. Antigone (Creon’s niece) rights this violation of divine law by breaking human law. She buries her brother’s body and pays with her life. It’s just that simple. But Anouilh’s 1944 update of Sophocles’ original is anything but. The playwright keeps the plot but gives the characters inner lives. This changes everything.


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

The Mighty Orchestra

Thursday 30 November
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked     Book Tickets

This is an instrumental concert for large ensembles and involves the symphony orchestra, the foundation orchestra, the wind band, the Sevenoaks strings, the flute choir, and the mighty Orchestra itself, which is a performance of a short famous piece, which we will arrange in such a way that any student learning an instrument may take part if they so wish. 


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

Legends

Thursday 23 November
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked 
Book Tickets

This is a choral concert for large vocal groups and involves the choral Society, the Sennocke consort, the senior girls ensemble, chorus, the junior chamber choir and the lower school singers. Each of these groups has identified the music of one group for popular artist and will present a choral arrangement of several of their numbers.


 

NT Live

Screening

Skylight

Sunday 19 November
Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £16 Concession | £10 Child/Student
Book Tickets

Written by David Hare
Directed by Stephen Daldry

★★★★★
‘Moving picture of politics and love’ Guardian

Returning to the big screen after nearly ten years, Bill Nighy (Living) and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) feature in the critically acclaimed revival of David Hare’s play, directed by Stephen Daldry (The Audience).

On a bitterly cold London evening, schoolteacher Kyra receives an unexpected visit from her former lover. As the evening progresses, the two attempt to rekindle their once passionate relationship only to find themselves locked in a dangerous battle of opposing ideologies and mutual desires.

Captured live from Wyndham’s Theatre in London’s West End in 2014.

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk


 

Talk

Dr Desra Percaya

The Impacts of Colonialism

Wednesday 15 November
Pamoja Hall, 6.30pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked
Book Tickets

 

Dr Desra Percaya serves as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to the UK


 

Royal Opera House

Encore Screening

Don Quixote

Sunday 12 November
Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student
Book Tickets

Teeming with wit and an abundance of bravura choreography, this energetic 19th-century ballet is enlivened by Ludwig Minkus’ spirited score and is a wonderful showcase for the virtuosity of The Royal Ballet's Principal dancers. Created for The Royal Ballet a decade ago, Carlos Acosta’s exuberant production brings the sunshine and charm of Spain to the stage with Tim Hatley’s characterful designs.


 

MUSIC

Historical Keyboard Concert

Friday 3 November
Recital Room, 4.30pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked
Book Tickets

 

Travel back in history as our precious historical instruments are brought to life by our talented students. There will be a range of music including baroque music on the harpsichord and Fanny Mendelssohn on the fortepiano for you to enjoy.


 

OPERA

Kentish Opera 70th Anniversary Gala Concert

Dedicated to the memory of Sally Langford

Saturday 21 October

Pamoja Hall,   7.30pm

Tickets £22, £5 (Students), FREE admission for 12 & under   Book tickets  or email boxoffice@sevenoaksschool.org

Kentish Opera has a long and varied history, where we have staged everything from classics such as La traviata, Carmen and La boheme to some of opera's less-known or less-heard repertoire. This concert  reflects upon the decades that Sally Langford spent at the helm of Kentish Opera and the remarkably different productions she staged, bringing show-stoppers from the classics as well as introducing some pieces you may not have heard before but which are no less deserving.

One of our great differentiators in the opera world (outside London, of course...) is that we have a full chorus, meaning we can perform all numbers as they were written.

Come and join us for a fantastically wide-ranging evening of live music from one genre, performed by professional soloists and orchestra with the Kentish Opera chorus giving our characteristically full sound.


DRAMA

Sevenoaks School Theatre Company presents

The Tempest

Monday 9, Tuesday 10 & Wednesday 11 October
Sackville Theatre, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked
Book Tickets

A mother and daughter, Prospera and Miranda, live on a distant island full of strange sounds, wondrous sights and only 2 other inhabitants to do their bidding and keep them company. Until one day, their long-lost enemies sail onto the horizon and Prospera uses magic to conjure a storm, separate and torment the survivors, including the King of Naples and her treacherous brother, Antonio. Revenge, mischief, murderous plots, betrayal, magic, comedy, and love follow in Shakespeare's classic and influential play.


 

Royal Opera House

Encore Screening

L'Elisir D'Amore

Sunday 8 October
Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student
Book Tickets

Expect sun, fun and vocal acrobatics in Laurent Pelly’s much-loved staging of Donizetti’s intoxicating and witty comedy. Conductor Sesto Quatrini makes his house debut, as does soprano Nadine Sierra in the role of Adina with the incomparable Bryn Terfel as the genial wheeler-dealer Doctor Dulcamara.

Sung in Italian with English subtitles.


 

TALK

Sevenoaks Literary Festival

Clive Myrie: Everything is Everything

Monday 2 October
Pamoja Hall, 7.30pm
Tickets £14.50 | £12.00 (full time education)
 Book Tickets

 

Journalist, news anchor and presenter Clive Myrie talks about his moving, engaging and revealing memoir.


 

MUSIC

Sevenoaks Sings with Friends

Saturday 30 September
Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Tickets £12 | £7 Over 65 & 16 and under

 

 Book tickets or email

A celebration of music, fun and friends from within the Sevenoaks community. This fundraising concert hosted by Sevenoaks Sings choir brings together a range of local musical groups to support West Kent Mind and Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees. Expect a diverse mix of popular, upbeat songs from different genres across the decades, from folk clubs, pop charts and musical theatre.


 

Royal Opera House

Encore Screening

Das Rheingold

Sunday 24 September
Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child
Book Tickets

Antonio Pappano conducts Barrie Kosky’s bold new imagining of Wagner’s Das Rheingold with an outstanding cast including Christopher Maltman (Wotan) and Christopher Purves (Alberich).

Sung in German with English subtitles.


 

SSTC

How Pleasant to Know Mr Lear

Tuesday 20, Thursday 22 June 7pm

Wednesday 21 June 1.30pm

Sackville Theatre 
Admission FREE, but must be booked 
Book Tickets

Edward Lear is the Grand-daddy of English nonsense. His limericks, comic illustrations and absurd yet beautiful poems have delighted readers for more than a century.  As recently as 2014 ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ was voted Britain’s favourite children’s poem.  But he also overcame a troubled childhood and debilitating epilepsy to become a renowned wildlife and landscape artist, and led a fascinating life of travel and self-discovery.

Come with us on a journey to get to know Mr Lear and his charming world of nonsense.


Talk

Tim Marshall

Geopolitics: The Future of Geography

Thursday 21 September
Pamoja Hall, 6.30pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked
 Book Tickets

Space: the new frontier, a wild and lawless place. It is already central to communication, economics, military strategy and international relations on Earth. Now, it is the latest arena for human exploration, exploitation – and, possibly, conquest. We’re heading up and out, and we’re taking our power struggles with us. China, the USA and Russia are leading the way.

Britain’s best selling author on international affairs, Tim Marshall is the former Diplomatic Editor and Foreign Correspondent for Sky News. Renowned for his ability to identify the causes underlying world events, he has reported from over thirty countries including 12 wars and conflict zones and has published six books on international relations. Tim leaves audiences with a richer understanding of the regions we live in and the relationships between them. He inspires people with a deeper sense of how we can best adapt to the vicissitudes of social, political, economic and technological developments.


 

Royal Opera House

Encore Screening

Don Quixote

Sunday 12 November
Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student
Book Tickets

Teeming with wit and an abundance of bravura choreography, this energetic 19th-century ballet is enlivened by Ludwig Minkus’ spirited score and is a wonderful showcase for the virtuosity of The Royal Ballet's Principal dancers. Created for The Royal Ballet a decade ago, Carlos Acosta’s exuberant production brings the sunshine and charm of Spain to the stage with Tim Hatley’s characterful designs.


 

ROH Encore Screening

Il Trovatore

Sunday 18 June

Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student
Book Tickets

Passions run high as Manrico and the Count di Luna compete for the affections of Leonora. Little do they know, Manrico’s mother Azucena has been keeping a terrible secret for decades. Soon a curse from the past will rise up from the ashes with devastating implications for them all.

Starring Ludovic Tézier and Jamie Barton, Adele Thomas’s energetic staging sets Verdi’s tale in a Hieronymus Bosch-inspired universe of medieval superstition. Antonio Pappano conducts Verdi’s dramatic score, which features the famous ‘Anvil’ chorus.

Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Leonora: TBC, Manrico: Yusif Eyvazov, Count di Luna: Ludovic Tézier, Azucena: Jamie Barton, Ferrando: Roberto Tagliavini.


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks Present: Summer Concert

Friday 16 June 

Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked
Book Tickets

This is a summer concert showcasing the ensemble musical activities of Sevenoaks School. It will feature our national chamber music champions, the Year 10 violin quartet and the Foundation Orchestra, who will play an arrangement of symphonic music by Tchaikovsky and finish with a choral performance given by the whole of Year 7.


 

ROH Encore Screening

The Sleeping Beauty

Sunday 28 May

Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student
Book Tickets

The Sleeping Beauty holds a very special place in The Royal Ballet’s heart and history. It was the first performance given by the Company when the Royal Opera House reopened at Covent Garden in 1946 after World War II. In 2006, this original staging was revived and has been delighting audiences ever since. Frederick Ashton famously cited the pure classicism of Marius Petipa’s 19th-century ballet as a private lesson in the atmospheric art and craft of choreography. Be swept away by Tchaikovsky’s ravishing music and Oliver Messel’s sumptuous fairytale designs with this true gem from the classical ballet repertory.


 

SSTC

Lord of the Flies

Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24, Thursday 25 May

Sackville Theatre, 7pm
Admission free, but must be booked
Book Tickets

A group of schoolchildren are stranded on a desert island. All seems well, until darkness falls and the island becomes an enemy. Together they have a chance of rescue, but the temptation to run wild may prove irresistible…

The SSTC Year 9 present Lord of the Flies, a fast-paced adaptation of William Golding’s famous novel.

The play captures the slide into savagery of a group of children stranded on a remote island during wartime. The story works on two levels, setting its symbolic representation of the human urge to turn fear into violence alongside an all-too-realistic depiction of the devastating consequences of children’s petty cruelties.

Gripping and horribly believable, this production is filled with moments of watch-through-your-fingers tension.


 

MUSIC

Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra present

Shostakovich Piano Concerto no. 2

Sunday 21 May  

Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets £18, £17 concessions, £5 U26 & £2 U19   
Book tickets

A complimentary glass of wine or juice will be served during the interval

We are delighted to welcome back the Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra to the Pamoja Hall and look forward to their programme which will include the Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.2 with virtuoso pianist Christos Fountos.

The Shostakovich Piano Concerto is often played on radio and it is usually the slow movement which is featured. The soloist for the Shostakovich is Christos Fountos, he played the Beethoven concerto No. 3 with Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra recently. They are looking forward to playing with him again. He brings an aura of tranquility to his playing that the Shostakovich slow movement in particular should be a real treat.

Also on the evening's programme: St Anthony Variations, Brahms, A Rejoicing of Bells, Davison, Dances of Galanta, Kodaly and Symphony in C, Bizet

This performance is not suitable for children under the age of 7.


 

TALK

David Skinner OBE

Thursday 18 May

Pamoja Hall, 6.30pm
Admission FREE but should be booked 
Book a place

Presentation with Q&A: Why international humanitarian responses are not as effective as they should be: a view from Afghanistan, the Rohingya crisis, and Ukraine. 

David has worked for 25 years in the British Government in a variety of roles including coordinating the Sino-British negotiations for the handover of Hong Kong. He was the former Director of Save the Children's first ever global campaign: Rewrite the Future: this campaign led to significant changes to the opportunities for learning for children affected by armed conflict. The campaign reached 10 million children and secured a unanimous resolution in the UN General assembly about the importance of education for children in emergencies, and mobilised $500 million for Save the Children's programmes.  From 2009 to 2012, David was Save the Children's Country Director in Afghanistan and then became Country Director in Pakistan from 2012 to 2014 overseeing an annual portfolio of $100 million.

In 2019, David became leader of Save the Children’s humanitarian response to support the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Based in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, he oversaw a team of nearly 2,000 staff working across seven sectors: child protection, health, nutrition, education, sanitation, food security and livelihoods. In March 2022, David was asked to return to humanitarian work. He was appointed Senior Education Coordinator for the international humanitarian response to the conflict in Ukraine. He is responsible for ensuring that the assistance provided by UN agencies, public and private donors, international and national NGOs and private sector actors is coordinated with the needs of the Ukrainian national and regional government.


 

TALK

Neetha Kunaratnam - CAUC/ASIAN

Monday 15 May

Pamoja Hall, 6.30pm
Admission FREE but should be booked 
Book a place

Neetha was awarded the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize for 2007 by Poetry Review.  He gained his MA in Creative Writing in 2008 from RHUL, studying under Andrew Motion and Jo Shapcott. His first collection ‘Just Because’ (Smokestack Books) was highly commended in the 2019 Forward Prizes. He features in The Forward Prizes Poems of the Decade 2011-20.

He appears in the anthologies 'Off the Shelf' (Picador, ed. Carol Ann Duffy) and 'Out of Sri Lanka' (Bloodaxe).

His second collection Cauc/asian (Blue Diode Press) interrogates the experiences of being Asian in a Caucasian context, and dual heritage i.e. Cauc/asian. It also tackles questions of ecological collapse.


 

ROH Encore Screening

The Marriage of Figaro

Sunday 30 April

Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student
Book Tickets

Servants Figaro and Susanna are filled with excitement on their wedding day, but there’s a hitch: their employer, the Count Almaviva, has dishonourable intentions of his own towards the bride-to-be. With more twists than a page boy’s stockings, the story of Mozart’s comic opera will surprise and delight you at every turn. Come for the music and stay for the cross-dressing hilarity, all unfolding over the course of one crazy, topsy-turvy day in the Almaviva household. Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano conducts a truly international cast in David McVicar’s timeless production.

Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Figaro: Riccardo Fassi, Susanna: Giulia Semenzato, Count Almaviva: Germán E. Alcántara, Countess Almaviva: Federica Lombardi, Cherubino: Hanna Hipp Don, Basilio: Gregory Bonfatti, Marcellina: Monica Bacelli, Bartolo: Gianluca Buratto, Antonio: Jeremy White, Barbarina:Alexandra Lowe, Don Curzio: Alasdair Elliott.


 

Eynsford Concert Band present

For England and St. George - with the Band of Grenadier Guards

Sunday 23 April
Pamoja Hall 7pm
Tickets £16 SOLD OUT Email to be added to the waiting list

Eynsford Concert Band are thrilled to announce that the Band of Grenadier Guards will be joining us for our spring concert

For England and St. George on St. George’s Day.

This concert promises to be a great evening of music with performances from both bands and a massed-bands finale, conducted by Captain Ben Mason and Lt. Col Mike Smith. Mike will be retiring from the Army in May after 36 years of service to Army Music.  This concert will therefore be a fitting and memorable occasion for him and both bands as we mark this occasion.

The concert will be in support of ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity, the National Charity of the British Army.  ABF gives a lifetime of support to soldiers and veterans from the British Army, and their immediate families.  It makes grants to individuals through their Regiments and Corps and support a wide range of specialist charities that sustain the British Army ‘family’, both at home and around the world.


 

JAZZ

Sevenoaks School Jazz Club

Thursday 20 April

Sackville Theatre, 7.00pm
Admission FREE but should be booked    Book Tickets

Please join us in the Sackville Theatre for a more intimate Jazz Club night, where the school’s leading soloists are backed by a professional trio of musicians under the leadership of Nicholas Beston.


 

ROH Encore Screening

Cinderella

Sunday 16 April

Pamoja Hall, 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50 | £17 Concession | £15 Subscriber | £10 Child/Student
Book Tickets

Royal Ballet Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella celebrates its 75th anniversary this Season. The ballet’s opening night in 1948, featuring Moira Shearer and Michael Somes in the lead roles, was received rapturously. After over a decade away from the Royal Opera House stage, Ashton’s timeless reworking of Charles Perrault’s famous rags-to-riches story returns, showcasing the choreographer’s deft musicality and the beauty of Prokofiev’s transcendent score. A creative team steeped in the magic of theatre, film, dance and opera brings new atmosphere to Cinderella’s ethereal world of fairy godmothers and pumpkin carriages, handsome princes and finding true love.


 

Theatre

SSTC present

The Winter's Tale

Monday 10 to Thursday 13 October
Sackville Theatre   7pm
Admission free, but must be booked  Book Tickets

The jealous King Leontes falsely accuse his wife Hermione of infidelity with his best friend, and she dies. Leontes exiles his newborn daughter Perdita, who is raised by shepherds for sixteen years and falls in love with the son of Leontes' friend. When Perdita returns home, a statue of Hermione comes to life, and everyone is reconciled. 


 

TALK

Andrew Graham-Dixon 

In The Picture

Thursday 19 January

Pamoja Hall, 6.30pm
Admission FREE but should be booked 
Book a place

Andrew Graham-Dixon is one of the leading art critics and presenters of arts television including numerous landmark series for the BBC. Andrew has won numerous awards for writing and broadcasting.

In his talk 'In the Picture with Andrew Graham-Dixon’, he plays the role of both biographer and detective to discuss the principles and practice of art appreciation. He will explore some of his favourite paintings from many different corners of the history of art, telling the fascinating stories that lie behind them and revealing their often hidden meanings.


 

Talk

Dr Amjad Mohamed Saleem talks

Conflict Resolution Through Building Trust 

Thursday 29 September
Pamoja Hall    6.30pm
Admission free and open to all, but should be booked   Book a place   

Amjad is the orchestrator of the Volunteer, Youth and Education Developoment Unit at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies based in Geneva, a global team focused on volunteering management, youth innovation and engagement, and education programming.  He has worked in different perspectives of humanitarian work, interfaith engagement and peace building.  He applies his extensive knowledge on peace building, humanitarian affairs and development work and interfaith engagement in many domains, including as board member of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, and People Beyond Borders. His publications include journal articles, several book chapters and a book on 'Lessons from Aceh'. Amjad is an alumnus of the International Visitors Leadership Program and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and has an M.Eng from Imperial College, London, an MBA from Manipal Global Nxt Malaysia and a PhD from Exeter University.


 

Charity Concert

Big Band Aid

Big Band Aid

Sunday 25 September
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets £15 & £7.50 U16s   Buy Tickets 

A very special concert of big band music with over 30 leading jazz musicians raising money for Brain Tumour Research and Living On.

The Big Band Aid, big band 2022 will be made up of professional musicians and vocalists performing in the spectacular Pamoja Hall at Sevenoaks School. Players will rotate around to form an ever changing big band under the direction of Nick Beston.

It will be a swinging, funky, stormin’, unforgettable and fun evening of jazz with top players travelling from all over the country to take part in this concert. We will also be joined by the fabulous vocalist Sue Rivers, with interval entertainment from young jazz musicians from Sevenoaks School.


 

Eynsford Concert Band present

Unseen Wings - A Churchill Portrait

Saturday 9 July
Pamoja Hall 7pm
Tickets £12 Book Tickets

Eynsford Concert Band are delighted to announce their latest collaboration with renowned composer (and Honorary Patron) Dr Jack Stamp.

“Unseen Wings” is an elaborate and exciting new piece written by Jack as his gift to Eynsford Concert Band on their 50th Anniversary.

Jack has been fascinated by the life of Winston Churchill for many years and, after reading “Never Give In” by Stephen Mansfield, was inspired to write this new piece, including narrated passages from it.

Both Jack and Stephen will be present for the premiere. Stephen will also also give a short talk on the life of Churchill. Supporting ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity.


 

Sevenoaks Summer Festival

Swinging At The Cotton Club

Sunday 3 July
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets £25  Book a place

For one night only, the Pamoja Hall will be transported into 1920s New York City for an evening at Harlem’s legendary Cotton Club!

Featuring the Lindy Hop Dance Company and the Harry Strutters Hot Rhythm Orchestra with vocalists Marlene Hill and Megs Etherington. 

 


Sevenoaks Summer Festival

An Evening With David Gower

Sunday 26 June
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets £25  Book a place

David Gower, the legendary former England cricket Captain, will be taking guard at the Sevenoaks Summer Festival being interviewed by agent and friend Ralph Brünjes. Generally considered one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of all time, the Kent-born blond-haired ex-1980s heart-throb will be sharing his thoughts on 2019’s Cricket World Cup win, the Ashes and of course his personal career highlights from both on and off the pitch. This is your chance to hear straight from the Sky Sports anchor everyone misses. Expect a host of colourful tales, from captaining his national team to victory in the Ashes to memorably flying that Tiger Moth over Queensland. 


SSTC

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22 & Friday 24 June 
Sackville Theatre    7pm
Admission free, but must be booked  Book Tickets

Join us for an outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Set in the dreamy world of the circus, Oberon, Titania and their merry band of magical performers have come to town to perform at a reception following the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Also performing for the royal couple are a troupe of clowns, complete with kazoos! Against the backdrop of the festivities, four young people fall in and out of love as they make their way through an enchanted forest.


Sevenoaks Summer Festival

John Smedley Folk Memorial Concert

Sunday 19 June
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets £25  Book a place

Eddi Reader supported by Charlie Dore
Award-winning songstresses present the annual tribute to the late John Smedley, local folk-artist and Festival Organiser. Eddi Reader's playing the folk clubs of Scotland and street-singing across Europe led her to backing singer for Eurythmics and Gang of Four. In the the late 1980's Eddi’s own band Fairground Attraction had huge international success with number one hits with ‘Perfect’ and debut album ‘First of a Million Kisses’. Her successful solo career includes the albums 'The Songs of Robert Burns' and last years 'Cavalier'. She has won Brit Awards, been awarded four honorary degrees, an MBE and collaborated with a host of stars of Folk, Jazz, Pop, World, Punk and Classical work with various orchestras. In 2019 Eddi was a special tour guest with Jools Holland's Orchestra, she released her ‘Starlight’ EP and appeared on several BBC TV shows including Songs of Praise and Billy Connolly's ‘Made In Scotland’ series.

"Just perfect – Eddi Reader gets every song just right" - The Sunday Times. 
"One of my favourite singers of all time" - Jools Holland. 
Charlie Dore returns to Sevenoaks with her long-time collaborator Julian Littman of Steeleye Span. Expect a taste of ‘intriguingly other’ eclectic contemporary folk. They’ll showcase their new album, as well as favourites from the past and original acoustic versions of hits Charlie has written for others, including George Harrison, Celine Dion and Jimmy Nail. Expect a new version of Charlie’s classic hit, Pilot of the Airwaves, still a staple of UK and US radio playlists. 
“...a voice like Kate McGarrigle meets Dory Previn. Wonderful.” Mike Harding BBC. 
"A gift for melody, brave, poignant, entertaining, original" Guardian


 

Professor Sir Jonathan Bate CBE Talk & Book Signing

Mad About Shakespeare

Tuesday 7 June
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Admission Free, but should be booked via email  Book a place

‘In the process of writing this memoir, I discovered that it was, among other things, a tribute to Sevenoaks – especially to my great English and Drama teachers John Adams, Alan Hurd, Jon Campbell and Bob Taylor. In my talk I’ll try to convey the excitement of that golden age in the school’s continuing history of visionary education.’

Sir Jonathan is a biographer, critic, broadcaster, scholar, playwright and poet. He is Foundation Professor of Environmental Humanities in Global Futures at the School of Sustainability and the College of Liberal Arts, Arizona State University. He is also a Senior Research Fellow of Worcester College Oxford, where he was Provost 2011-19, Professor of English Literature in the University of Oxford, a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Society of Literature. Sir Jonathan served on the Board of the Royal Shakespeare Company and was Gresham Professor of Rhetoric 2017-19. In 2015, he became the youngest person ever to be knighted for services to literary scholarship.

His biography of John Clare (Picador/Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003) won Britain’s two oldest literary awards, the Hawthornden Prize for Literature and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography, as well as the NAMI (New York) Book Award; it was shortlisted for four other awards, including the Samuel Johnson Prize and widely reviewed as ‘a stunning achievement’ and ‘an extraordinary work of scholarship’.


 

SSTC

Arabian Nights

Tuesday 24, Wednesday 25 & Thursday 26 May
Sackville Theatre 7pm
Admission free, but must be booked  Book Tickets

 

'Listen…

When King Sharayar has his heart broken, he makes sure it never happens again. Marrying a new bride each day to behead her the next morning begins a cycle of woe for the land. But Shaharezad, daughter to the king’s Vizier has a plan to use her love of stories to soften the king’s heart and save the women of the land.'

Join the Sevenoaks School Theatre Company Lower School Ensemble for ‘Arabian Nights’, in a version by Domonic Cooke, for a joyous storytelling telling experience that will make you fall in love with the magic and mystery of the ‘1001 Nights’; tales of wonder, of treasure and riches, of magic singing trees and talking birds, of clever heroines and cunning heroes, of a young girl who knows that her own theatrical power can save lives of those she loves.


 

ROH Encore Screening

ROH - Royal Ballet

Swan Lake

Sunday 22 May
Pamoja Hall     2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 Concession, £15 Subscriber & £10 Child/Student  

 

MUSIC

Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra present

Reflections for Italy

Sunday 8 May  
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets £15 Full & £2 U19s (All tickets include either a soft drink or a glass of Prosecco)  Book Tickets

Featuring pianist Christos Fountos and conducted by Darrell Davison

Programme to include:

  • Rossini : The Italian Girl in Algiers
  • Beethoven : Piano Concerto No. 3
  • Elgar : Serenade for Strings
  • Mendelssohn : Italian Symphony (No. 4)

Talk & Book signing

The Citizen Shift

Jon Alexander

Friday 6 May
Pamoja Hall      6.30pm 
Tickets £7 (in support of EduSpots and the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal)    Book a place 

Jon Alexander began his career in advertising, winning the prestigious Big Creative Idea of the Year. Driven by a deep need to understand the impact on society of 3,000 commercial messages a day, he gathered three Masters degrees, exploring consumerism and its alternatives from every angle. 

In 2014, he co-founded the New Citizenship Project to bring the resulting ideas into contact with reality. In his book, Citizens, he asks us to consider how when we start to act like citizens, rather than consumers.The world has huge potential to change for the better. 

There will be a live Q and A, led by Cat Davison, Founder of EduSpots, followed by a book signing after the event. 


MUSIC

Eynsford Concert Band present

An Anniversary Concert

Sunday 24 April
Pamoja Hall    7.00pm
Tickets £12      Book tickets 

Eynsford concert band will start their 50 year anniversary celebrations here, at The Space.

Join them for an evening that will include the premier of a new fanfare specially written for the occasion, some guest appearances from past Musical Directors with a programme of new works and band favourites.


 

ROH Encore Screening

ROH - Royal Opera

La Traviata

Saturday 23 April
Pamoja Hall    2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 Concession, £15 Subscriber & £10 Child/Student   Book Tickets

19th-century Paris is a place of contrasts; glamour and superficiality, love and lust, life and death. Courtesan Violetta sings some of Verdi’s most acclaimed arias including the joyous ‘Sempre libera’,in her poignant and passionate encounters with Alfredo and Germont. Richard Eyre’s production for The Royal Opera recently celebrated 25 years on the Royal Opera House stage and this year returns with acclaimed opera star Pretty Yende as Violetta.

Cast

Pretty Yende (Violetta), Stephen Costello (Alfredo Germont), Dimitri Platanias (Giorgio Germont), Kseniia Nikolaieva (Annina), David Shipley (Doctor Grenvil), Angela Simkin (Flora Bervoix), Germán E. Alcántara (Baron Douphol), Andrés Presno (Gastone de Letorières), Jeremy White (Marquis d’Obigny)


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

William Sevenoke Memorial Concert

Monday 21 April 
Pamoja Hall    7.30pm
Admission FREE but should be booked     Book Tickets

 

MUSICAL THEATRE

Trinity School presents

Les Miserables (school edition)

Saturday 25 March 
Sackville Theatre    2.30pm  &   (7.00pm  - SOLD OUT)
Tickets £15       Book tickets

Trinity School presents one of the world’s most iconic and longest-running musicals, Les Misérables Schools Edition. The story follows Jean Valjean, a former convict who spends a lifetime seeking redemption. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France and the aftermath of the French Revolution, this timeless story of intertwined destinies reveals the power of compassion and the quiet evil of indifference to human suffering. As Valjean’s quest for a new life carries him into Paris and to the barricades of the Student Revolution, he is hunted by Inspector Javert and the ghosts of his past. Amidst a battle for the soul of Paris, he discovers the true meaning of love and salvation.

The cast includes students from years 7-13. After auditioning they were successful in obtaining a role in what is going to be an epic display of talent. The cast have been working tirelessly, their energy and commitment is remarkable to behold and it has been a pleasure to work alongside such devotion. Behind the scenes students have made props and costumes. Even the poster and promotional material has been produced by students. Please come and support our school community and be a part of our phenomenal adventure.


MUSIC

Sevenoaks Philharmonic present

Mozart Requiem & Haydn Nelson Mass

Sunday 27 March
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets £16, £15 over 60s & £5 students and U21s    Book Tickets

Mozart’s sublime last work, started just before his death in 1791 and completed by his trusted pupil Franz Sussmayr is a jewel of the choral repertoire and is paired here with Haydn’s 1798 composition, written initially to celebrate the name-day of his patron’s wife and afterwards ascribed to honour the visit of Admiral Nelson and Emma Hamilton to Eisenstadt as guests of Prince Esterhazy in September 1800.

These works compliment each other musically and together they illustrate the pinnacle of choral writing at the end of the 18th century.


 

DANCE

Sevenoaks School present

The Dance Show

Thursday 17 March
Pamoja Hall    7.30pm
Tickets £6     Book tickets

 

MUSIC

Chamber Music Concert Series

Platform I, Friday 25 February

Platform II, Monday 28 February and

Platform III, Wednesday 16 March

Recital Room    7.00pm
Admission FREE, but should be booked      Book Tickets

Sevenoaks School has acquired a formidable reputation in the field of chamber music. Regular finalists in Pro Cprda's annual national Chamber Music Festival for Schools, we present three evenings dedicated to music for the small ensemble, featuring the work of some 50+ pupils in the school.


 

CHARITY SHOW

Musicals for a Cause

Tuesday 15 March
Pamoja Hall   7.00pm
Tickets £5   Book Tickets

 

ROH Encore Screening

ROH - Royal Opera

Rigoletto

Sunday 13 March
Pamoja Hall    2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 Concession, £15 Subscriber & £10 Child/Student   Book Tickets

In a pitiless world of luxurious decadence, corruption and social decay, Director of The Royal Opera Oliver Mears sets his scene. In his first work for his own Company, Mears brings Verdi’s masterpiece into the modern world. Verdi’s thrilling Rigoletto pits power against innocence, beauty against ugliness, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano.This special anniversary screening of Verdi’s Rigoletto celebrates 171 years since its premiere in 1851.

Cast

Carlos Álvarez (Rigoletto), Liparit Avetisyan (Duke of Mantua), Lisette Oropesa (Gilda), Brindley Sherratt (Sparafucile), Ramona Zaharia (Maddalena), Eric Greene (Count Monterone), Kseniia Nikolaieva (Giovanna), Dominic Sedgwick (Marullo), Egor Zhuravskii (Borsa) and Blaise Malaba (Count Ceprano)


 

TALK

Dr Tejendra Pherali 

Rethinking Education after Conflicts

Thursday 3 March
Pamoja Hall    6.15pm
Admission FREE, but places should be booked       Book a place

Rethinking education after conflicts: Exploring the multiple faces of education in conflict-affected contexts. 

In this presentation, Dr Pherali, Associate Profession in Education and International Development, UCL will problematise the widely believed role of education in promoting societal advancement and critically discuss how education can create and exacerbate conditions of violent conflicts in politically and socially fragile environments. Drawing upon his decade-long work in Nepal, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Thailand, he will present ideas about how to transform education to build peace with social justice. 

ROH Screening

ROH Encore Screening - Royal Ballet 

Romeo & Juliet

Sunday 20 February
Pamoja Hall    2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 concession, £15 Subscriber & £10 Child/Student   Book Tickets

Romeo and Juliet has become a great modern ballet classic of the ballet repertory since its creation by Royal Ballet Director Kenneth MacMillan and its premiere in 1965. In this special screening, the doomed lovers attempt to find their way through the colour and action of Renaissance Verona, where a busy market all too quickly bursts into sword fighting and a family feud leads to tragedy for both the Montagues and the Capulets.

Cast

Marcelino Sambé (Romeo), Anna-Rose O’Sullivan (Juliet)


 

Theatre

SSTC Y10 play present

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 February   7.00pm
Thursday 10 February   4.00pm
Sackville Theatre
Admission FREE but should be booked    Book Tickets

 

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, subtitled 'A parable play', is a 1941 play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. It chronicles the rise of Arturo Ui, a fictional 1930s Chicago mobster, and his attempts to control the cauliflower racket by ruthlessly disposing of the opposition. The play is a satirical allegory of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany prior to World War II.


 

MUSIC

Sevenoaks School Music present

The Art of Transcription

Friday 4 February 2022 
Pamoja Hall   7pm
Tickets free, but should be booked   Book tickets
 

The piano is unique among instruments in being able to recreate almost any kind of music. Pianists can play everything from transcriptions of operas, arrangements of folk songs to covers of TV theme tunes.

Contemporary culture prizes the original, whilst simultaneously revelling in the proliferation of copies both physical and digital. The concert will explore this dynamic through repertoire beginning with a fourteenth-century intabulation of a motet and ending with a mash-up of music from the TV drama Squid Game.

The evening will culminate in a massed performance of the English Morris dance ‘Country Gardens’, which has become synonymous with the name of the arranger, Percy Grainger.


 

ROH Screenings

ROH  - Royal Ballet present

The Nutcracker

Sunday 12 December
Pamoja Hall    2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £15 concessions, & £10 child/student    Book tickets

The Nutcracker is a family favourite at Christmas time and is one of the most delightful ways to discover the enchantment of ballet. The story of Clara, a girl on a magical Christmas Eve adventure, is accompanied by sparkling music and even dancing sweets! Watch the full company of The Royal Ballet in this much-loved ballet classic.


Cast
Akane Takada (The Sugar Plum Fairy), Cesar Corrales (The Prince), Christopher Saunders (Herr Drosselmeyer), Isabella Gasparini (Clara), Luca Acri (Hans-Peter/The Nutcracker)
Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House, conducted By Koen Kessels.

Running time: 2 hours and 40 minutes (including one interval)


 

MUSIC

The Lydian Orchestra

Saturday 18 December

Pamoja Hall    7.30pm

Tickets £15, £6 students & £1 under 16s   Book Tickets

The premier independent youth orchestra in the South East.

The Lydian Orchestra has been making music since 1976 and over the past few years has grown in size and stature, delivering fantastic performance and musical training opportunities to a wide range of young musicians from Kent, Sussex and Surrey.

Now 45 years old, we celebrate with a concert programme of Michael Torke, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, featuring the 2020 Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year, Mykyta Burzanitsa. The concert will be conducted by Bennedict Collins Rice.


 

ROH Screenings

ROH  - Royal Ballet present

The Nutcracker

Sunday 12 December
Pamoja Hall    2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £15 concessions, & £10 child/student    Book tickets

The Nutcracker is a family favourite at Christmas time and is one of the most delightful ways to discover the enchantment of ballet. The story of Clara, a girl on a magical Christmas Eve adventure, is accompanied by sparkling music and even dancing sweets! Watch the full company of The Royal Ballet in this much-loved ballet classic.


Cast
Akane Takada (The Sugar Plum Fairy), Cesar Corrales (The Prince), Christopher Saunders (Herr Drosselmeyer), Isabella Gasparini (Clara), Luca Acri (Hans-Peter/The Nutcracker)
Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House, conducted By Koen Kessels.

Running time: 2 hours and 40 minutes (including one interval)


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

Crash into Christmas

Friday 10 December

Pamoja Hall    7.30pm

Tickets £3     Book Tickets

This is the event where the Sevenoaks School jazz ensembles lead our celebrations of the coming festive season. Groups involved include the Big Band, the Middle School Jazz Band and Chorus as well as other quartets and jazz combos, directed by Mr Beston.

There is a £3 charge for this event and the revenue is being donated to the school Charity in Action group. The event will be in two halves and end around 9.30pm. 


 

THEATRE

Sevenoaks School Theatre Company present

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Tuesday 7 to Thursday 9 December
Sackville Theatre   7.00pm
Admission FREE but should be booked    Book Tickets

 

CULTURAL EVENING

Music at Sevenoaks and The German Department present

Ode an das Deutsch

Friday 3 December

Pamoja Hal   7.00pm

Tickets  £3     Book Tickets   

This event is a collaboration with the German department celebrating German culture and values.  Presentations with occasional interactive moments will be interspersed with musical items performed by the Symphony Orchestra and the Sennocke Consort as well as various smaller ensembles of a classical and contemporary nature.  Every student who is studying German at Sevenoaks School will also be involved.  The event will be in two halves and ends around 9.30pm. 


 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks

Tuesday 30 November

Pamoja Hall   7.30pm

Admission FREE but must be booked      Book Tickets     

This concert celebrates the large ensemble playing which takes place at Sevenoaks School.  The ensembles involved will include the Sevenoaks School Wind Band, the Sevenoaks Strings, the Foundation Orchestra, the Lower School Singers. 


 

Talk

Sevenoaks Literary Festival present

Dame Eileen Atkins and Her Book Will She Do?

Friday 29 October

Pamoja Hall   7.30pm

Tickets £16   Book tickets 

Dame Eileen Atkins is coming to Sevenoaks Literary Festival. Characterised by an eye for the absurd, a terrific knack for storytelling and an insistence for honesty, Dame Eileen's candid and witty memoir Will She Do? is a wonderful raconteur's tale about family, class, youthful ambition, big dreams and what really goes on behind the scenes. 


 

MUSIC

Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees present

The Annual Concert Fundraiser

Saturday 23 October

Pamoja Hall

7.30pm

Tickets £15 Full & £5 Child plus a range of Family and Carer tickets

Book tickets

The annual concert fundraiser for Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees will be in the magnificent Pamoja Hall, part of The Space Performing Arts Centre at Sevenoaks School.

The headline act is the internationally acclaimed Elektra Violin Duo. Hazel Ross and Lizz Lipscombe bring music of every genre to all and break down any barriers and preconceptions in classical music with a truly unique show that has taken them all over the world, combining musical virtuosity with personality, humour and joy. 

Concert-goers will also be joined by classical guitarist, Ayman Jarjour. Ayman returns to Sevenoaks with a varied programme including Classical, Spanish, Latin, Modern and Syrian music. An outstandingly accomplished guitarist, Ayman will be performing live and will also talk about his work teaching the guitar to refugee children in Lebanon.


 

Theatre

Sevenoaks School Theatre Company presents

Gatsby

Monday 11 to Thursday 14 October     7.00pm

Friday 15 and Saturday 16 October     7.30pm

Sackville Theatre

Tickets free but should be booked   Here

The Sackville Theatre turns 40 this year, and we are celebrating with our own adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel of Jazz Age America, The Great Gatsby, culminating in a special Gala Performance on October 16.

Over forty students from  Year 11, and the Lower and Upper Sixth have been exploring the book and working on the production since last year, despite the constraints of year group bubbles and remote learning.

Remaining faithful to the novel and its ‘romantic modernism’, Gatsby presents Fitzgerald’s critique of the American Dream and the dangers of a society which fails to acknowledge it is determined by wealth and class.  


 

Talk

Sevenoaks Academic Enrichment present

How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch: In Search of the Recipe for our Universe: A Talk by Harry Cliff

Thursday 7 October

Pamoja Hall   6.15pm

Tickets are Free but should be booked    Book Tickets

We look forward to hearing from Dr Harry Cliff, Particle Physicist at the University of Cambridge and curator at the Science Museum, London, this October. 

Dr Cliff will speak on the origins of atoms and the Big Bang in his talk 'How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch: In Search of the Recipe for Our Universe'.

This takes place in the Pamoja Hall, 6.15pm-7.15pm, followed by refreshments in The Space foyer and a book signing in partnership with Sevenoaks Bookshop.


 

TALK

Dr Adam Rutherford will talk on

How to Argue with a Racist

Tuesday 3 March
Pamoja Hall    6.15pm
Tickets: FREE but should be booked   Book a Place

As we harvest ever more human genomes one fact remains unshakeable: race does not exist. Geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford, presenter of Radio 4’s Inside Science and author of A brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, will talk about his new book How to Argue with a Racist.


 

MUSIC

Sevenoaks School present

Chamber Musicians' Platform II

Tuesday 3 March
Recital Room   7.30pm
Tickets: FREE but should be booked    Book a Place

Sevenoaks has acquired a formidable reputation for chamber music. Regular finalists in Pro Corda's annual national Chamber Music Festival for Schools, Sevenoaks School presents three evenings dedicated to music for small ensemble and featuring the work of some 60 students.


 

MUSIC

The Salome Quartet

Mini-Recital

Wednesday 12 February
Recital Room   6.15pm
Admission FREE but should be booked       Book a place

A 30 minute recital followed by a 15 minute meet the musicians discussion. 

Programme

F. Mendelssohn - String Quartet No. 2 Op. 13 - I. Adagio - Allegro vivace 

L. van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 9 Op. 59 Razumovsky No. 3 - III. Menuetto & Trio; IV. Allegro molto

D. Shostakovich - Polka from Two Pieces for String Quartet Op. 36a


 

THEATRE

SSTC Middle School present

Caesar

Monday 10 to Thursday 13 February
Sackville Theatre   7.00pm
Tickets: FREE but should be booked   Book a Place

With his meteoric rise to power, the populist general Julius Caesar is set to bring prosperity to the city, and to make Rome great again. But amongst his generals are those who think otherwise. Those who might do whatever it takes to ensure that Rome is safe from the true enemy; those who rule over it. Even if this means war...  

Based on William Shakespeare’s play, Caesar is an original work devised by the Sevenoaks School Theatre Company that brings this ancient tragedy of political hubris kicking, screaming and raving into the feverish and fast paced 21st century.  


 

TALK

Dr Giles Yeo talks on 

Gene Eating: The Science of Obesity and the Truth about Dieting

Thursday 23 January
Pamoja Hall   6.15pm
Admission FREE   Book a Place

Dr Giles Yeo of Wolfson College, Cambridge, offers a groundbreaking look at how our genetic makeup influences our relationship with food. Indispensable for anyone interested in biology or, indeed, any human who eats food.

MUSICAL

Sevenoaks School present

Sweeney Todd (schools edition)

Wednesday 3 to Saturday 6 October
Pamoja Hal   7.00pm
Tickets £20 full £17 concessions  Book tickets

Uncomfortably the most popular of the Sondheim/Prince collaboration, Sweeney Todd is the story of one man’s revenge against the corrupt judge and general London society which exiled him for a crime he had not committed. Together with his business associate, Mrs Lovett, Sweeney engages in his now legendary spree of murdering Londoners and serving them up in meat pies for fellow Londoners to consume.  Sondheim’s delicious score has wonderfully exhilarating melodies and luscious orchestrations which are somehow at odds with the terrifying plot and darkly comic moments.  A feast for all the senses.

This whole school production is brought to life by a talented ensemble cast of 51 Year 7-12 performers.They are accompanied by an orchestra featuring some of the most accomplished student musicians. 

 

Art Exhibition Screening

Gauguin, from the National Gallery

Sunday 20 October
Pamoja Hall   2pm
Tickets £12.50 & £10 (concession)   Book Tickets

This fascinating cinema event opens with a brand-new documentary about the life and work of Paul Gauguin, one of the world’s most popular and important artists. Filmed in Tahiti, France, the Marquesas Islands and the UK, this cinematic film will explore Gauguin’s extraordinary – and at times controversial – artistic achievement, with commentary from his descendants, artists and world experts. It will be followed by an exclusive private view of the National Gallery exhibition Gauguin Portraits, just after it opens in London. The cinema audience will be given an engaging and lively guided tour by the exhibition curators and guest contributors, bringing this first ever exhibition of Gauguin’s portraits to the big screen with stunning close-ups and illuminating insights. 

Recorded Event | Documentary (60 minutes) + Exhibition Private View (30 minutes)

#GauguinCinema

OPERA

Royal Opera House LIVE cinema present

Die Walkure

Sunday 28 October  Pamoja Hall   5.00pm
Book Tickets   

ANTONIO PAPPANO CONDUCTS AN INTERNATIONAL CAST IN THE SECOND OPERA OF RICHARD WAGNER’S EPIC DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN.

Wagner's Ring cycle is one of the greatest works of all opera. Keith Warner's production is conducted by Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera, and this final revival is cast with an outstanding international array of Wagnerian specialist singers. The full cycle's four operas journey from the beginning of a world to its destruction, with gods, heroes and monsters. This epic myth portrays every type of human emotion in music and ideas of extraordinary power. The Ring is always a special event in the operatic calendar: once experienced, never forgotten. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) is the second opera in the cycle, and features several of the Ring's musical highlights - the sparkling Magic Fire Music and the electrifying Ride of the Valkyries. But among the musical fireworks and Norse mythology, at the centre of this opera are the unforgettable characters and the complex entanglements between them, including twins Siegmund and Sieglinde, and Wotan and his Valkyrie daughter, Brünnhilde.

SIEGMUND STUART SKELTON, SIEGLINDE EMILY MAGEE, WOTAN JOHN LUNDGREN, BRÜNNHILDE NINA STEMME, FRICKA SARAH CONNOLLY

APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIME: 4 HOURS 50 MINUTES, INCLUDING TWO INTERVALS SUNG IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES

THEATRE

SSTC Lower School Play present

Coram Boy

Wednesday 20 to Saturday 23 June
Sackville Theatre   7.00pm
Tickets £7   Book Now

Coram Boy adapted by Helen Edmundson from the children's novel by Jamila Gavin.

Set in Georgian England, where Thomas Coram has recently opened a foundling hospital in London for deserted children. Handel offers to stage a benefit concert to help provide a home for the alarming number of vulnerable, abandoned, children. But unscrupulous Coram men have taken advantage of the situation by promising desperate mothers to take their unwanted children to the hospital for a fee. Set amidst this tragic episode of British social history, and to the backdrop of Handel’s Messiah, Coram Boy follows the tale of two cities - Gloucester and London - and of two boys: Toby, saved from an African slave ship, and Aaron, illegitimate heir to a great estate.

Staged by a large Lower School ensemble, the Sevenoaks School Theatre Company’s production of this dark but uplifting story is not to be missed.

A beautiful story of lost children, abandoned hopes, broken hearts and reunions - The Guardian.

Coram Boy won the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 2000.

BALLET

Royal Opera House Encore Screening present

Swan Lake

Sunday 17 June
Pamoja Hall    2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 concession, £15 subscriber* & £10 child/student   Book Now

Swan Lake has had a special role in the repertory of The Royal Ballet since 1934. This Season The Royal Ballet creates a new production with additional choreography by Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett. While remaining faithful to the Petipa-Ivanov text, Scarlett will bring fresh eyes to the staging of this classic ballet, in collaboration with his long-term designer John Macfarlane.

Prince Siegfried chances upon a flock of swans while out hunting. When one of the swans turns into a beautiful woman, Odette, he is enraptured. But she is under a spell that holds her captive, allowing her to regain her human form only at night.

Swan Lake was Tchaikovsky's first ballet score. Given its status today as arguably the best loved and most admired of all classical ballets, it is perhaps surprising that at its premiere in 1877 Swan Lake was poorly received. It is thanks to the 1895 production by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov that Swan Lake has become part of not only ballet consciousness but also wider popular culture. That success is secured not only by the sublime, symphonic sweep of Tchaikovsky's score, but also by the striking choreographic contrasts between Petipa's royal palace scenes and the lyric lakeside scenes created by Ivanov.

Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov take the lead roles of Odette/Odile and Prince Siegfried, conducted by Koen Kessels

Darcey Bussell will be joined by broadcaster Ore Oduba, to give audiences around the world a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes as they present the live cinema relay.  

APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIME:3 HOURS, INCLUDING TWO INTERVALS

TALK

Victor Mallet Talks

Thursday 14 June
Recital Room   6.15pm
Admission FREE     Book a place

Victor Mallet, Asia News Editor of the Financial Times, will discuss his book River of Life, River of Death. Hailed in the New Statesman’s books of the year as a 'wonderful achievement', the book, on the Ganges and India’s future, exposes an environmental crisis of international significance and asks whether India’s politicians can save the holy river from catastrophe. 

MUSIC

Singer/Songwriting Concert

Thursday 7 June
Recital Room   7.00pm
Admission FREE   Book a place

THEATRE

SSTC Year 9 present

House of Blood

Tuesday 22 to Thursday 24 May
Sackville Theatre   7.00pm
Tickets £7    Book Now

A curse haunts the House of Atreus, passed down the generations and written in blood. Can the cycle of murder and revenge never be broken? Inspired by Aeschylus’s Oresteia, Year 9 students tell the story of a dark and disturbing Greek myth.

TALK

Helen Scales talks 

The Complex Lives of Fish

Wednesday 23 May
Pamoja Hall   6.15pm
Admission FREE but should be booked   Book a place

Marine Biologist Helen Scales, whose book on seashells, Spirals in Time was a Radio 4 Book of the Week and a book of the year for The Times, Guardian, The Economist and Nature, on the mesmerising and complex lives of fish. Book signings and sales courtesy of Sevenoaks Bookshop.

THEATRE

Theatre Ad Infinitum present

Translunar Paradise

Thursday 3 May
Sackville Theatre   4.30pm & 7.30pm
Tickets £13 (concession £10) Book Now

Theatre Ad Infinitum's wordless tale of life, death and enduring love returns to tour the UK and Chile following years of extensive international touring amassing nine awards.Original performers George Mann and Deborah Pugh are joined by Sophie Crawford to retell, with precise gesture and touches of humour, the story of widower William who escapes to a comforting world of fantasy and memories rather than confront his grief. From beyond the grave, his wife Rose returns to help him let go.

This poignant, life-affirming tale uses intricate and lifelike hand-held masks - created by Madame Tussaud's senior sculptor Victoria Beaton - to travel back and forth through William and Rose's relationship, wordlessly conveying a lifetime of memories in 75 minutes.

TALK

Why Theatre?

A Talk by Simon Stephens

Friday 20 April
Sackville Theatre  6.15pm
Admission FREE but must be booked   Book a place

Playwright Simon Stephens (Punk Rock, Birdland and adaptations of A Doll’s House, The Seagull and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time) on writing for the stage.

Royal Opera House Live Encore Screenings

Royal Opera

Macbeth

Sunday 8 April
Pamoja Hall 2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 concession, £15* subscriber & £10 child/student Book Now

Verdi's life-long love affair with Shakespeare's works began with Macbeth, a play he considered to be 'one of the greatest creations of man'. With his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi set out to create 'something out of the ordinary'. Their success is borne out in every bar of a score that sees Verdi at his most theatrical: it bristles with demonic energy.

Phyllida Lloyd's 2002 production for The Royal Opera is richly hued, shot through with black, red and gold. The witches, imagined by designer Anthony Ward as strange, scarlet-turbaned creatures are ever-present agents of fate. Lloyd depicts the Macbeths' childlessness as the dark sadness lurking behind their terrible deeds. The Royal Opera's production uses Verdi's 1865 Paris revision of the opera, which includes Lady Macbeth's riveting aria La luce langue.

APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIME: 3 HOURS 20 MINUTES, INCLUDING ONE INTERVAL 

SUNG IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES

Royal Opera House Live Screenings

Royal Ballet

Royal Opera House Encore Screening

Bernstein centenary

Tuesday 27 March
Pamoja Hall    7.15pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 (£10 Child/Student)  Book Tickets

THE

The Royal Ballet celebrates the centenary of Leonard Bernstein's birth with an all-Bernstein programme from choreographers Wayne McGreggor, Liam Scarlett and Christopher Wheeldon. 

The programme includes two world premieres by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, marking each artist's first foray into Bernstein. At the heart of the programme is the first revival of Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett's The Age of Anxiety, created in 2014 to Bernstein's soul-searching Second Symphony. Both symphony and ballet are inspired by W.H. Auden's masterful modernist poem, itself written in response to the atmosphere of disillusionment and uncertainty that followed the end of World War II.

 APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIME: 3 HOURS, INCLUDING TWO INTERVALS

 

 

DANCE

The Housley School of Dance presents

ID, 18 Years of the Housley School of Dance

Saturday 24 & 25 March
Pamoja Hall    12.00 & 5.00pm
Tickets £13 (concession £10)    Book Tickets

The Housley School of Dance celebrates 18 years of teaching in the bi-annual performance. If you love all types of dance, drama, singing and musical theatre it is well worth watching. The school has 200 children aged between 4-18 and the west-end style show is created by the principal of the school Jane Kirkby. It will be a lovely children's dance show and a true celebration of theatre.

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present

The Alan Adler Memorial Concert

Monday 19 March
Pamoja Hall    7.30pm
Tickets £7    Book Now

The Sevenoaks School Symphony and Chamber Orchestras present a concert of 18 and 19 century orchestral music. Mika Curson, Amelia Ross and Mervyn Tong are the soloists in a performance of Bach's Brandenburg concerto No 4.

The Symphony Orchestra present Sullivan's popular overture to The Pirates of Penzance, Berlioz's 'Hungarian March' from The Damnation of Faust and the concert concludes with Schubert's 'unfinished' symphony no 8 in B minor. Christopher Potts and Christopher Dyer direct.

JAZZ

Music at Sevenoaks present

Sevenoaks Swings

Friday 16 March
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets  £7    Book Now

The jazz music that has come out of Sevenoaks School in recent years has been astonishing. Come and hear large ensembles, such as the Sevenoaks School Big Band and the popular choir 'Voices' in our annual end of Lent term celebration Sevenoaks Swings.

MUSIC

Chamber Musicians' Concert Series

Platforms I & II Thursday 8 March
Platform III Thursday 15 March
Recital Room    7.30pm
Admission Free    Please book here

Sevenoaks School has acquired a formidable reputation in the South East in the field of chamber music. Regular finalists in Pro Corda’s annual national Chamber Music Festival for Schools, Sevenoaks School presents three evenings dedicated to music for the small ensemble and featuring the work of some sixty pupils in the school.

THEATRE

SSTC L6 present

Girls Like That

Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 March
Ordovsky-Tanaevsky Drama Studio    7.00pm
Tickets £5   Book Now

When our sense of reality is constructed by Smartphones, no one is safe; and when your profile picture gets 100 likes, are they really your friends? When Scarlet's naked photo goes viral around school, the ferocity of smartphones and tweets are unleashed, and her reputation is torn to shreds. The enemy however is not the boys; this is girls against girls.

A twisted fusion of Mean Girls and Black Mirror: Evan Placey's explosive dark comedy explores the perils of growing up in our new digital generation. Girls Like That not only highlights the damaging standards placed on women by society, but more shockingly by women themselves.

With a soundtrack of Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Pink and Taylor Swift, a group of Lower Sixth students take us from the nursery playground, to the secondary school corridors; back in time to the roaring 1920s, World War II, the 60s and 80s, in order to determine: when did girls last have each others' back?

THEATRE

SSTC Lower 6 play

Macbeth

Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 March 
Sackville Theatre    7.30pm
Tickets £7    Book Now

The Sevenoaks School Theatre Company (SSTC) present a contemporary transformation of Shakespeare's bloody tragedy of murder and supernatural power. This exciting production, performed by Lower Sixth students, offers a bold, refreshing interpretation of this popular play - resonating ideas about gender, power and our taste for violence. Blood will have Blood

Set in a not-too-distant future during a savage tribal war, a cult-like militia fights in the ruins of a modern city for its ideals and very existence. Consumed by a deadly prophecy, a heroic female warrior and her ambitious partner betray the very order they have fought for. Descending into tyranny, chaos and madness, they risk taking their whole community and comrades with them.

Approximate running time 100 minutes. No Interval

BALLET

Royal Opera House Encore Screening presents

The Winter's Tale

Sunday 4 March
Pamoja Hall    2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, (concession £17, & child/student £10)   Book Tickets

Shakespeare's tale of love and loss becomes a compelling dance drama in Christopher Wheeldon's ballet adaptation. The story follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret - and after a seemingly miraculous return to life - the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. With powerful designs by Bob Crowley and atmospheric music by Joby Talbot, The Winter's Tale is a masterful modern narrative ballet.

APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIME: 3 HOURS, INCLUDING TWO INTERVALS

MUSIC

Maidstone Wind Symphony present

Festival of Wind & Brass 2018

Saturday 24 February
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets £10 (£8 U18 & O65) U12 FREE   Book Now

Maidstone Wind Symphony is joined by former BBC Young Brass Player of the Year Matilda Lloyd and the Southern Counties Youth Band for the annual Festival of Wind Brass in Sevenoaks. Maidstone Wind Symphony's programme will include Mendelssohn's Overture for Winds, Arutiunian Trumpet Concerto and Mackey's Frozen Cathedral.

JONATHAN CROWHURST | conductor

MUSIC

Chamber Music Masterclass

Wednesday 21 February
Recital Room   4.15pm
Admission FREE    Book a Place

 

The masterclass will be taken by the internationally award-winning Fournier Trio, an ensemble that has rapidly established itself as one of the leading young chamber ensembles in the UK. They will be giving a short performance to open the class, followed by a 'Meet the Artists' question and answer session. Two of our chamber ensembles will then participate in the masterclass.

OPERA

The Royal Opera Encore Screening

Tosca

Sunday 11 February
Pamoja Hall    2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 concessions & £10 child/student   Book Now

Tosca is one of the great evenings of opera, and from its strident opening chords conjures up a world of political instability and menace.Jonathan Kent's production for The Royal Opera captures the dangerous political turbulence of Rome in 1800. The Chief of Police, Scarpia - one of the most malevolent villains in opera - ruthlessly pursues and tortures enemies of the state. His dark, demonic music contrasts with the expansive melodies of the idealistic lovers, Tosca and Cavaradossi, who express their passion in sublime arias, including 'Vissi d'arte' and 'E lucevan le stelle'. Giacomo Puccini's dramatic work was a hit with audiences on its 1900 premiere and it remains one of the most performed of all operas - with its gripping plot and glorious music, it's easy to see why.A candle-lit church, Scarpia's gloomy study with its hidden torture chamber and the false optimism of a Roman dawn: this handsome production throws into relief the ruthlessly taut drama, as the tension is wound up towards a fateful conclusion.

Puccini's meticulously researched score is infused with the same authentic detail, from distant cannon fire during the Act I Te Deum to tolling church bells and the sounds of a firing squad.

Opera in four acts.

APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIME:3 HOURS, INCLUDING TWO INTERVALS | SUNG IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES

 

TALK

David Olusoga talks on Black History

Thursday 8 February
Sackville Theatre   6.00pm
Admission FREE    Book a Place

Historian and author of Black and British and The World’s War, David Olusoga on historical amnesia

 

 

MUSIC

Piano Showcase

The Beethoven Project

Tuesday 30 January
Recital Room    7.30pm
Admission FREE   Book a Place

Beethoven's place in contemporary culture is manifold. Our first exposure to his music is as likely to be a muzak version in a restaurant as a performance in a concert hall. Modern performances betray more our beliefs and aesthetics than those of Beethoven's times. How might we begin to uncover the real Beethoven, possibly the most important composer in the history of music, who was the first to write music of social and political resonance, and one of the very few who strode further into unknown territory with nearly every work? Students will perform the iconic piano sonatas and symphonies on a piano from Beethoven's time in this endeavour.

TALK

Redesigning Life

Thursday 25 January
Sackville Theatre   7.00pm
Admission FREE   Book a Place

Professor Paul Freemont, Co-director of the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation at Imperial College London, on the frontiers of genetic research.

OPERA

The Royal Opera Encore Screening

Rigoletto

Sunday 21 January
Pamoja Hall   2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 concessions & £10 child/student   Book tickets

Don't miss David McVicar's acclaimed production of Verdi's powerful opera, conducted by Alexander Joel, featuring an excellent cast led by Dimitri Platanias, Lucy Crowe and Michael Fabiano. With themes that explore the misuse of power and corruption, Verdi's opera is emotionally powerful, psychologically thrilling, and as timely as ever. Broadcaster Clemency Burton-Hill will give audiences around the world a glimpse behind-the-scenes as she presents the live cinema relay. Don't miss your chance to experience this world class opera broadcast live from London's Covent Garden. Opera in four acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours 35 minutes including one interval. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

MUSIC

Music for a Cause

Thursday 18 January
Pamoja Hall   6.30pm
Tickets    £7   Book Now
 

MUSIC

Lydian Orchestra Present

Winter Concert

Thursday 21 December
Pamoja Hall 7.30pm
 
Tickets £15 (£6 under 21, £1 under 16)   Book tickets

The Lydian Orchestra's Winter Concert will feature the 2017 Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year, pianist Peter Xie, who will perform Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.2. The conductor will be Peter Young.

THEATRE

SSTC Year 10 present

Great Expectations

Tuesday 5 to Saturday 9 December (no show Friday 8 December)
Sackville Theatre   7.00pm
Tickets £10 (£8 concessions)  Book tickets

A tale of wealth, poverty, ambition, rejection and love, Great Expectations is the story of Pip, an orphan whose life is changed when he meets an escaped convict in a churchyard, and is subsequently introduced to a mysterious elderly woman, and her beautiful ward. Neil Bartlett lovingly reinterprets Charles Dickens' dark, original Bildungsroman for the stage.

MUSIC

Crash into Christmas

Friday 8 December
Pamoja Hall    7.30pm
Tickets £7 (Profits to charity)  Book tickets

Join the large Sevenoaks School jazz ensembles in a festive musical extravaganza. The Big Band will lead the celebrations with performances of Swing sensations and there is also a chance to hear the school's gospel choir, barbershop ensembles and saxophone quartets perform many other light popular favourites.

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks presents

The Mighty Orchestra III

Friday 1 December
Pamoja Hall 7.30pm
Tickets £7    Book tickets

This concert celebrates the large ensemble playing which takes place at Sevenoaks School. The Symphony Orchestra, which will perform Schubert's 8th symphony, is supported by the younger Foundation Orchestra as well as the school's Middle School string orchestra, Sevenoaks Strings, and the school Wind Band. Members from all of these groups, and also some enthusiastic beginners, will join together for one spectacular performance of Luigi Denza's timeless classic, Funiculi, funicula. The Sennocke Consort will perform a selection of their Christmas material.

THEATRE

Theatre Ad Infinitum present

The Odyssey

Monday 6 November
Sackville Theatre   4.30pm & 7.30pm
Tickets £12 (£10 concession)   Book tickets

One actor. One hour. One man's epic quest to reunite with his family and seek his bloody revenge. The Odyssey follows the Greek warrior Odysseus in his relentless attempt to reach home so he can see his wife and son again before he dies. Passionate, highly physical and poignant storytelling brings this breathtaking adventure to life. A journey that will ignite the imagination and awaken the senses.

'The Best of the Fringe' - Observer

ROH CINEMA SEASON

The Royal Opera Encore Screening

La Bohème

Sunday 8 October
Pamoja Hall   2.00pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 concessions & £10 child/full-time student   Book tickets

First performed in Covent Garden in 1897, La Bohème has been performed there more than 500 times since. Puccini's romantic depiction of bohemian Paris, with memorable music and a love story drawn from everyday life, has captivated audiences around the world. Director Richard Jones brings his characteristically acute insight to one of the best-loved of all operas, visualised in Stewart Laing's spectacular, stylised 1850s setting.

Opera in four acts. Approximate running time: 2 hours 35 minutes including one interval. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

TALK

Professor Steven L Isenberg presents

Rereading The Great Gatsby and other American Classics in the Age of Trump

Thursday 5 October  
Sackville Theatre   7.00pm
FREE ADMISSION      Book a place

Visiting Professor at The City University of New York, Steven L. Isenberg has a long, distinguished career that spans the spheres of public policy, higher education and journalism. He has taught politics, journalism and literature at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California at Berkeley and Yale, as well as been Executive Vice President of the Los Angeles Times and the Publisher of New York Newsday.

TALK

Q&A with Writer John Lanchester

Friday 15 September
Pamoja Hall    7.00pm
FREE admission   Book a place

If you are looking for some summer reading, how about Capital by John Lanchester?

Serialised by the BBC with Toby Jones as investment banker Roger Yount, Capital is the gripping story of one London street during the financial crisis of 2008. If you prefer non-fiction, his best-selling Whoops: Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay is a witty, accessible explanation of how the financial world works.

You can read the books and then meet the author.

Sevenoaks Festival - Concert

Michel Legrand presents 

A Lifetime of Exquisite Melody

Thursday 6 July
Pamoja Hall   7.30 pm
Tickets £25.00    Book Tickets 

In association with City Lights Entertainment (UK), the legendary,multi award winning French-born composer and pianist Michel Legrand has been creating wonderful music for over half a century. A virtuoso in both jazz and classical piano, he performs all over the world.

His most famous compositions and collaborations, with lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman, are modern standards: The Windmills of Your MindThe Summer of '42 and What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?.

He has composed and scored music for more than 200 films, TV shows and musicals, including the Oscar winning Summer of '42, The Thomas Crown Affair, Ice Station and Zebra.  

For this special Festival concert, Michel will be accompanied by bassist Geoff Gascoyne and drummer Sebastian DeKrom as he sings and plays the magnificent Steinway grand piano in the Pamoja Hall. 

MUSIC

Sevenoaks Partnership Orchestra present

A Night at the Movies

Wednesday 5 July
Pamoja Hall   4.30pm
Admission Free    Book a Place


10 primary schools from the Sevenoaks district will come together to play music from blockbuster films such as Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean and Ghostbusters. Sevenoaks schools partnership and Kent Music are working together to bring the many young musicians in the district together. There will be approximately 70 children on a range of instruments that have all been working hard to learn the music over the last 2 months. Lizzie Hughes, music teacher from Fordcombe Primary School has worked with children at the event for the past 10 years and is leading the proceedings again this year. Lizzie will lead the day of rehearsals and the final performance for friends and family. Co-leading the proceedings again this year alongside Lizzie is Guy Saunders for their 10th year in collaboration! The concert will start at 4.30pm in the impressive venue ‘The Space’ at Sevenoaks School which the school has generously provided for free. Tickets are available for free on boxoffice@sevenoaksschool.org or call 01732 467765.

 

Sevenoaks Festival - Theatre

Daniel Taylor, Sharon Byatt & Gareth Jones present

The Tommy Cooper Show

Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 July
Sackville Theatre   7.30 pm 
Tickets £17.00 (£15 concession )  Book tickets  

'Just like that!', Daniel Taylor presents his brilliant tribute show tracing the life and times of Britain's best-loved comic and magician, featuring Tommy's favourite tricks and sketches.

'The true impact of The Tommy Cooper Show is best gauged by the ovation of an audience who have spent the duration of the show utterly entranced by this portrayal and laughing along as if the great man was actually present in the room with us. Essential viewing for those who loved and remember Tommy Cooper, as indeed it is for those who may never have seen him as it is difficult to conceive of a better recreation of such a unique and memorable character.' British Theatre Guide

'Daniel Taylor's evocation of the great man is spot on' Liverpool Echo 'Extremely Funny....A tour de force' Chris Bleach Chairman, The Tommy Cooper Society

OPERA

The Royal Opera present: ENCORE screening

Verdi's Otello

Sunday 2 July
Pamoja Hall   2pm
Tickets £18.50, £17.00 concession, £15 Subscriber* & £10 child   BOOK NOW
 
 * To qualify for the Subscriber ticket price of £15, you must book for a minimum of 3 ENCORE screening performances in one transaction. For more information and to book for Subscriber tickets Click Here

World-famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann makes his role debut as Otello in Verdi's passionate retelling of Shakespeare's great tragedy of jealousy, deception and murder. Soprano Maria Agresta will be his Desdemona and baritone Ludovic Tézier his nemesis Iago in a new production by Olivier Award-winning director Keith Warner.

A major work of the opera repertory, Verdi's Otello draws on the full forces of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Royal Opera Chorus and this stellar line-up of principal singers, with exquisite duets, emotionally potent solo numbers and thrilling choruses. Particular highlights include Otello and Desdemona's rapturous love duet and Desdemona's poignant 'Willow Song'.

Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano conducts this Italian masterpiece. Approximate running time 2 hours 45 minutes including one interval. Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Sevenoaks Festival - Recital

Accordare Quartet in Concert

Thursday 29 June  
Recital Room   7.30 pm  
Tickets £12.00, (£5.00 Student)   Book Tickets

Robbie Norman and Craig Jarvis - Violins, Tim Grant - Viola and Anita Strevens - Cello Programme includes

Mozart String Quartet No.21 in D major, K.575

Shostakovich String Quartet No.8 in C minor, Op.110   

Beethoven String Quartet Op.18 No 2 in G major

www.accordarequartet.com

THEATRE

Theatre Ad Infinitum present

Bucket List

Monday 24 April
Sackville Theatre   6.30pm
Tickets £12   SOLD OUT

This multi award-winning company present the powerful story of one Mexican woman's fight for justice.

When her mother is murdered for protesting corporate and governmental corruption, Milagros finds herself with only a bloodstained list of those responsible. Determined to make them pay, she embarks on a passionate quest for justice, no matter the cost.A story about love, loss and revenge, told with physical storytelling, live instrumental music and song.

Spirit of the Fringe Award 2016 ★★★★ The Times ★★★★ The Stage

BALLET

The Royal Ballet present: ENCORE screening

Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty

Sunday 5 March
Pamoja Hall   2pm
Tickets £18.50, £17 concession, £15 Subscriber* & £10 child  Book tickets
 
* To qualify for the Subscriber ticket price of £15, you must book for a minimum of 3 ENCORE screening performances in one transaction. For more information and to book for Subscriber tickets Click here

A perennial delight and a much-loved classic,The Royal Ballet's The Sleeping Beauty combines the best of classical ballet, with all its charms and virtuosity, splendid music and talented dancers.

First choreographed to Tchaikovsky's great musical score by Marius Petipa in Russia in 1890, The Sleeping Beauty has wonderful ensembles, solos including the Rose Adageas Princess Aurora meets her suitors, and of course the concluding celebratory dances for the happy union of prince and princess.

The Royal Ballet's landmark staging was revived for the Company's 75th anniversary celebrations in 2006. The designs by Oliver Messell, one of the greatest stage designers of the 20th century, were restored and updated for this production by Peter Farmer. The rich evocations of the baroque opulence of a royal court, the panoramic journey of the prince to the overgrown castle and the colourful characters in this famous fairy tale make this Sleeping Beauty a spectacle like no other.

Choreography - Marius Petipa, Production - Monica Mason and Christopher Newton, 

Conductor Koen Kessels

Approximate running time 3 hours including interval

TALK

Midsummer Misunderstandings

A talk by Jim Grant

Monday 27 February
Recital Room 3.00pm
Free Admission   Book tickets

Jim Grant will be giving an exclusive talk to the Arts Society to support Lent Term's school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In his own words: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream is a perennial favourite for school productions, even for quite young pupils. But why is a play about forced marriage, sexual desire, marital strife and mind-altering drugs seen as such a 'safe' choice for children? This talk will explore the assumptions about Shakespeare, about the content of the play, and about fairies that have made it the adult's favourite Shakespeare for youngsters, and explain the thinking, both educational and theatrical, behind the forthcoming Sevenoaks School Theatre Company production.'

MUSIC

Maidstone Wind Symphony present

Kent Festival of Wind and Brass

Saturday 25 February
Pamoja Hall   7.00pm
Tickets £10 (£8 concessions & under 12s FREE)   Book tickets

Maidstone Wind Symphony is joined by a wealth of world-class soloists for the annual Festival of Wind and Brass. Rex Richardson (trumpet), Les Neish (tuba) and Andy Findon (flute) will all join the orchestra in performances of the wind band music of Andy Scott to celebrate the launch of the new collaborative CD Roar! - The Wind Band Music of Andy Scott.

Rex, one of the very best trumpet soloists in the world, is flying in from America to premiere a dynamic jazz-influenced trumpet concerto written for him by Andy Scott. Europe's most recorded flute player Andy Findon will perform the beautifully poignant Fujiko while Les will wow audiences with his virtuosity on the tuba in the concerto Salt of the Earth. If that wasn't enough, the festival concert also features soprano Helen Bailey and a massed choir performing Johan de Meij's Symphony No 4, Sinfonie der Lieder. Stephen Richardson's Collision Theory and additional works by Andy Scott complete the programme for the orchestra under the baton of music director Jonathan Crowhurst.

Admission is free for MWS Season Ticket Holders but must be booked.

Full programme:         Stephen Richardson - Collision Theory, Andy Scott - Paquito, Andy Scott - Trumpet Concerto Freedom of Movement, Andy Scott - Fujiko, Andy Scott - Salt of the Earth, Johann De Meij - Symphony No. 4, Sinfonie der Lieder

The festival programme will also include a series of workshops and masterclass sessions during the day with our featured soloists. Participation in the masterclasses is £10 per person and includes a free ticket for the evening's gala concert. For more information and to register your interest  education@maidstonewindsymphony.org

TALK

Is Ballet Stuck in the Sexist Past?

Wednesday 22 February
Recital Room   4.30pm
Admission FREE   Book Tickets

Of women, men and ballet in the 21 Century, is ballet stuck in the sexist past? A talk by Alastair Macaulay, Chief Dance Critic of the New York Times.

MUSIC

Piano Technique Workshop

with Alan Fraser

Tuesday 27 September
Recital Room   4.30pm

Canadian pianist and teacher Alan Fraser is the author of the seminal book on piano technique The Craft of Piano Playing. Fraser's analysis of the innate structure and function of the human hand unlocks its power, replacing tension or over-relaxation with effective hand activation. Whatever is lacking in your technique, Fraser can see exactly where a new effort can bring your body and hand into better alignment, making your piano tone blossom with new richness and subtlety, and increasing your sense of power and agility. Alan Fraser will lead a Feldenkrais group session to introduce a mindful approach to the piano, before coaching selected students.

Theatre

BASH by Neil LaBute

Wednesday 21 September
Ordovsky-Tanaevsky Drama Studio
1.30pm and 4.30pm   

Sevenoaks School was delighted to welcome back Thea Mead, Sasha Doulerain Jr and Remi Pfister who performed their award winning Edinburgh Fringe Festival interpretation of Neil LaBute’s ‘Bash’. Their play consisted of two different mono-duet dramas, the first being ‘medea redux’, where a young girl recalls the sexual relationship she had, at thirteen, with her high school teacher and the lonely struggle she encounters due to her pregnancy. The story is powerful and Thea Mead incredibly portrays the young woman’s neurotic inner mind through repeated, subtle movements (such as scratching at her forehead) and the change of tone in her voice when she admits to killing her young child. In this powerful drama, although set in what could be an interrogation room, the audience is transported to her world and becomes a part of her story.

After the thrilling performance I got in touch with the talented actors who kindly answered my many questions. Sasha Doulerain Jr explained to me that they “spent about five weeks rehearsing, with about 3-6 hours of rehearsal each day.” When returning to Sevenoaks, they explained to me that “it felt like the perfect way to end the show’s run.” This is because when they were students they spent “pretty much all the time in and around the theatre.” Sasha described it as a “wonderful sort of closure to the show we made.” Impressively, the entire show was directed and staged by the two aspiring actors and Remi Pfister, the Tech Manager. Sasha explained to me that, for him, collaborating with Thea was incredible. She was a “legend in Sevenoaks, [he] always looked up to her as an artist and the decision to work with her on a show was a no-brainer for [him]”.

This extraordinary production had the Sevenoaks audience on the edge of their seats and I think this is one of the most exciting plays I have ever seen. I cannot wait to see what these incredible actors will create in the future.

THEATRE

Layla's Room by Sabrina Mahfouz

Produced by Theatre Centre

Monday 19 September
Sackville Theatre 4.30pm

Layla’s Room follows the struggles of a young girl desperately trying to find herself in a world where she is pressured to blend in. The story explores the harsh reality of sexual harassment and the effect it has on friendships and family relationships. Although the production uses humour and slang to capture the essence of teenagers, it shares a deeper message about the ‘everyday sexism’ young women encounter and the difficulty they face in attempting to make others believe them. The eye-opening play consists of Layla (Shanice Sewell) packing up her room and confiding in the audience in sharing her story – a story which drove her to depression. What started as name-calling from two boys at her school escalated into her being followed home and sexually assaulted in the street. The school does nothing in an attempt to keep the peace, while her classmates tell her that ‘boys will be boys’. The perpetrator, Joe (Alex Stedman), spreads rumours around the school which cause Layla to lose her best friend Monica (Emma White) and become ostracised by the rest of the school. Alone and vulnerable, Layla’s world shatters. This award-winning play performed by the Theatre Centre shows the importance of self-confidence as well as doing what’s right, even if it means standing alone.

THEATRE

Les Amants de Montmartre

Thursday 8 September
Sackville Theatre   

A romantic comedy with mischievous and caustic texts by Courteline, paced with period songs. 1910: Montmartre, the 'guinguettes' (open air cafes), the women's petticoats swirling with the music of the accordion... In this joyful and party-like atmosphere, René, a young man from 'La Butte', a little grumpy but with a big heart, meets Marguerite, a cute bird who won't be fooled. Gustave is the witness of all their shenanigans; he is the ever present friend who always has a tune to punctuate this love story full of twists and turns! This musical theatre play will make you travel into the Montmartre of the 1900s. 

MUSIC

The Story of American Piano Music with Tau Wey

Friday 2 September
Recital Room 7.30pm

Tau Wey, Head of Keyboard at Sevenoaks School, took us on a musical journey to America with its exhilarating and diverse sound world. The programme included pieces by Edward MacDowell, Amy Beach, Elliott Carter, Samuel Barber , Henry Cowell, John Cage, Philip Glass, Nico Muhly and George Gershwin.

MUSIC

Lydian Orchestra present

40TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

Sunday 17 July
Pamoja Hall 7.30pm

The Lydian Orchestra was founded in 1976 by June Clements to give talented young musicians in West Kent the opportunity to play together. It is the players themselves who organise the orchestra, resulting in a close-knit community which achieves high-level performances.

Forty years on, the Lydian continues to give three acclaimed concerts a year, at Christmas, Easter and Summer, in Sevenoaks and Tonbridge. The Lydian 40th Anniversary Concert programme included Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol and Shostakovich's Symphony No.5, conducted by Nils Schweckendiek. 

MUSICAL THEATRE

The JPA Academy presents

If Only You Would Listen

Sunday 10 July
Pamoja Hall   2.15pm & 6.00pm

The JPA Academy presented a dynamic theatre showcase with extracts from hit West End and Broadway shows, featuring Les Miserables, Grease, Mary Poppins, Hair, The Drowsy Chaperone, Jersey Boys, The School of Rock and more. It starred their talented students, aged 5 to 18.

MUSIC

Judd Summer Concert

Tuesday 5 July
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm

The centrepiece of the Judd Music Department Summer Concert was the choral suite from Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. The School Choir and Symphony Orchestra this was augmented for this by alumni, parents, friends of the school and invited guests. The evening also included performances from all of the school ensembles, as well as excerpts from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by year 7 students, building to a finale from Vivaldi's Gloria.

MUSIC

SEVENOAKS FESTIVAL FINALE

Rick Wakeman

Sunday 3 July
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Rick Wakeman has led a rich and varied life, which has included collaborations with David Bowie, Cat Stevens and Elton John, not to mention his own band worldwide tours and TV appearances on Watchdog and Grumpy Old Men. Join him as he recounts hilarious and unlikely anecdotes from a life rarely dull for Rick and for those around him.

MUSIC

SEVENOAKS FESTIVAL 

Tales of Wonder

Friday 1 July   
Recital Room  7.30pm

A mixed vocal and instrumental recital in which professional musicians draw from the classical cannon, tales of scintillating places and exotic characters,sensual and spine-chilling by turn. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we shall begin.

Vincent Barrella, Piano accompanist: Anthony Dawson, Tenor: Jane Dawson, Violin: Alison Gent, Flute: Guy Ashcroft-Lury, Violin: Mary Methuen, Piano: Anita Strevens, Cello: Helen Walker, Soprano.

Martin Taylor in Concert

Thursday 30 June
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm

Award-winning guitarist Martin Taylor will perform a dazzling solo concert combining virtuosity, emotion and humour with a strong, engaging stage presence.

A rare talent and one to be not simply appreciated but treasured - Sir Michael Parkinson

MUSIC

SEVENOAKS FESTIVAL

Martin Taylor Pre-concert Workshop

Thursday 30 June
Pamoja Hall   4.00pm
Tickets £5 (or free with evening concert ticket)

Martin will talk about and demonstrate his approach to solo playing and improvisation, and is aimed at all those curious about how to develop a 'flexible' approach to playing.

 

MUSIC

SEVENOAKS FESTIVAL 

Sir Willard White in concert

Sunday 26 June  
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm

Sir Willard White returns to the Pamoja Hall, and is joined by soprano Sylvia Kevorkian and pianist Eugene Asti to perform a scintillating and wide ranging selection of aria, lieder and musical theatre song.

THEATRE

SSTC present Years 7 and 10 production

NORSE! By Jim Grant

Wednesday 22 June to Saturday 25 June
Sackville Theatre  7.00pm

NORSE! Long Ships, Tall Stories. Come on a journey through the nine worlds of Norse Mythology. See what happens when Odin and the gods of Asgard rebrand themselves. Sevenoaks School Theatre Company's Middle and Lower School Production tackles the questions the Vikings couldn't handle: who stole Thor's hammer? Is Springsteen a rock giant? How do you ride an eight-legged horse? And what on earth is Ragnarok? IT'S EPIC! (And a bit silly.)

SCIENCE SHOWCASE

Science at Sevenoaks

An evening of celebration

Tuesday 24 May, Pamoja Hall, 7.00pm

A fast paced evening of talks, demonstrations, videos and performances celebrating the science studied at Sevenoaks School and beyond. The event will be scaffolded by a virtual tour of the proposed Science building, exploring the potential it provides for Science at Sevenoaks.

MUSIC

Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra present

SPRING SERENADE

Sunday 22 May  Pamoja Hall  7.30pm

This concert opens with Prokofiev's short but charming classical symphony (Symphony No.1 in D major) and also features the triple concerto for violin, cello and piano by Beethoven with three amazing soloists. Mozart's imposing Don Giovanni overture starts the second half which concludes with Brahms's Serenade no.1 for Orchestra, written when he was just 25 years old.

Full ticket price includes a free programme and glass of sparkling wine.

THEATRE

SSTC present Year 8 production

THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER

Monday 9 to Wednesday 11 May
Ordovsky-Tanaevsky Drama Studio 
7.00pm

An exciting interpretation of Coleridge's famous poem combining atmospheric sounds with physical imagery and text. Part live radio drama, part-theatre, the company will explore abstract voices and music to transform a wedding reception into the Mariner's haunting story.


 

TALK

National Trust lecture

COACH AND HORSE: from Kent to Moscow in the 16th and 17th centuries

Monday 9 May  Recital Room
7.00pm (6.15pm for refreshments)

Julian Munby, Oxford Archaeology The appearance of the coach in the mid-16th century was a social innovation with widespread consequences. Although there were at first few technological changes from medieval carriages, the new opportunities for display of the highly decorated coach bodies were exploited by the crown and aristocracy. Important travellers arriving at Dover might find themselves being taken to London by coach, while the ownership of a coach was a status symbol that soon became widespread. A remarkable gift of a coach from the London Muscovy company was taken in 1603 from Gravesend to Moscow as a present for Boris Godunov, and survives today in the Kremlin Armoury Museum. As a superb example of Jacobean craftsmanship, its highly decorated body has elements that can be compared with work at Knole.


 

DEBATE

Sevenoaks Chamber of Commerce present

EU Referendum: In or Out?

Thursday 28 April   Pamoja Hall   7.00pm 
Tickets Free, but must be booked.   

The Sevenoaks Chamber of Commerce and The Space invite you to an evening of debate and discussion in lieu of the up and coming EU Referendum. We are delighted to confirm the participation of Daniel Hannan MEP of the South East of England and Cllr. Peter Fleming OBE as Leader of Sevenoaks District Council. Further panellists to be announced shortly, to provide what promises to be an interesting and lively discussion to represent both sides of the 'in or out' conclusion. Some of the topics of discussion will include:

  • Trade
  • Employment
  • Regulations

The evening will be compared by Paul Andrews CEO and owner of Jobs In Kent and Kent Business Radio. Paul is passionate about supporting SMEs on their journey to success and is an experienced presenter and compare of business debates. The evening is intended to be interactive and there will be opportunity for audience participation.

  • 7.00pm: Reception and networking (paid bar)
  • 8.00pm: Introductions
  • 8.15pm: Debate
  • 9.45 pm: Conclusion
  • 10.00pm: Close

MUSIC

Alan Adler Memorial Concert

Tuesday 26 April 
Pamoja Hall  7.30pm

The Sevenoaks School Choral Society and Parents' Choir lead this concert of choral singing bringing together all of Sevenoaks School's main classical choirs. The Sennocke Consort will perform Mendelssohn's much loved classic anthem 'Hear my prayer' with its famous solo 'O, for the wings of a dove' and the concert culminates in three of Haydn's masterpieces for choir, the celebrated Insanae et vanae curae, his Te Deum in C and finally, from the oratorio The Creation, the popular chorus 'The Heavens are telling'.

DANCE

Sevenoaks School Dance Show 2016  

Friday 22nd April 

Pamoja Hall   7.30pm

A fantastic showcase of dance including tap, Bollywood, the Charleston and hip hop, involving over forty students across Sevenoaks school in a multitude of cultures, eras, and styles. This student-led spectacle brings together the talents of experienced dancers and novices alike, showing how collaboration between all ages can produce a night, full of toe tapping entertainment.

This evening will be in aid of two very worthy charities. Magpie helps people of all ages who have learning disabilities by teaching them dance, while the Stroke Association is focused on improving life for stroke survivors. 

 

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks present 

Symphony Orchestra Concert

Tuesday 19 April 
Pamoja Hall    7.30pm
 

The Sevenoaks School Symphony Orchestra presents a concert of music from the 19th century. The first half opens with Rossini's witty overture to the opera The Italian Girl in Algiers. Lou Warnett and Rachelle Lam share the stage in a performance of Beethoven's 4th piano concerto. The leading string players open the second half with Mendelssohn's beautiful 9th String Symphony in C before being joined by a massed woodwind, brass and percussion section for a performance of the ballet music from Gounod's opera Faust to end proceedings.

MUSIC

Sevenoaks School Jazz Club 

Thursday 14 April
Sackville Theatre  7.30pm
An intimate 'jazz club' setting in the Sackville Theatre creates an ideal stage for the best jazz musicians in the school to perform with a professional jazz trio: Jim Treweek, piano, Eric Guy, double bass and Buster Birch, drums. 'The best event I have ever been to at the school.' Sevenoaks School parent

DANCE

The Housley School of Dance present

Sweet Sixteen

Saturday 19 March 5.00pm
Sunday 20 March 12.00 noon & 5.00pm
Pamoja Hall

The Housley School of Dance celebrates 16 years of teaching in this bi annual performance. If you love all types of dance, drama, singing and musical theatre its well worth watching. The school has 190 children with ages from 4-18. A west end style show created by the principal of the school Jane Kirkby who has appeared in over 10 west end shows. It will be a lovely evening and a true celebration of children who dance!

TALK

National Trust lecture

NEWS FROM KNOLE

Monday 14 March   Recital Room
7.00pm (6.15pm for refreshments)

Nathalie Cohen, Head of Community Archaeology, National Trust gives an update on the ongoing archaeological project at Knole. Hear about the exciting details that are being uncovered about the origins and development of the house and park, and the lives of those who lived and worked there.

MUSIC

Piano Practice Showcase

Tuesday 8 March
Pamoja Hall & Recital Room 7.30pm

Mention the words 'piano practice', and what springs to mind?

From the dreaded scales to the lofty artistic heights of Chopin's Etudes, everything relating to this central aspect of pianistic endeavour will be explored.

Metronomes are an important part of piano practice, and no fewer than 100 will be assembled for a performance of Ligeti's Poème Symphonique. Throughout the day, a Hanon exercise marathon will be taking place in the foyer for everyone to have a go at piano practice!

MUSIC

The Allegri Quartet present

Chamber Music Masterclass

Wednesday 9 March
Recital Room   4.15pm

The Allegri Quartet was founded in 1953 and is Britain's longest-running chamber music ensemble, sustained over six decades by successive generationsof performers. Come and hear them coach severalof Sevenoaks School's chamber musicians in a masterclass in which they will bring to life principal works of the chamber music repertoire.

MUSIC

Chamber Music Platform Series

Tuesday 1 March  
Thursday 3 March
Wednesday 9 March

Sevenoaks School has acquired a formidable reputation for chamber music. Regular finalists in Pro Corda's annual national Chamber Music Festival for Schools, Sevenoaks presents three evenings dedicated to music for the small ensemble and featuring the work of some 60 of its students.

MUSIC

Bromley Youth in Concert with guest soloists Jan Schmolk, violin and Michael Dolovich, piano

Sunday 6 March 
Pamoja Hall 6.00pm
 

Bromley Youth Chamber Orchestra will perform Piazzolla's Four Seasons with Jan Schmolk,( German Young Musician of the Year and Leader of the Orchestra of St John's) , Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G and Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Bromley Youth Concert Band will then perform Martin Ellerby's Paris Sketches before welcoming Michael Dolovich to join them as piano soloist in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

Jan Schmolk has been sponsored by Bromley Intu Centre and Bates Solicitors of Covent Garden for this performance.

MUSIC

PIANO PRACTICE SHOWCASE

Tuesday 8 March
Pamoja Hall & Recital Room

Mention the words 'piano practice', and what springs to mind? From the dreaded scales to the lofty artistic heights of Chopin's Etudes, everything relating to this central aspect of pianistic endeavour will be explored. Metronomes are an important part of piano practice, and no fewer than 100 will be assembled for a performance of Ligeti's Poème Symphonique. Throughout the day, a Hanon exercise marathon will be taking place in the foyer for everyone to have a go at piano practice.

MUSIC

Sevenoaks Swings

Friday 11 March
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm

Sevenoaks Swings is the traditional end of term celebration of all things jazz and swing at Sevenoaks School. The evening will feature the school big band, Middle Schoool jazz band, saxophone quartet and many other ensembles.

Film

The Importance of Being Earnest Theatre Screening

Saturday 12 March  7:00pm
Pamoja Hall
 

Don't miss Olivier Award winner and Poirot star David Suchet as the formidable Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's much-loved masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest, which was filmed live at London's Vaudeville Theatre. A superb satire on Victorian manners and one of the funniest plays in the English language, the delightful repartee and hilarious piercing of hypocrisy will make you laugh out loud!

MUSIC

Sevenoaks School present

MUSIC FOR A CAUSE

Wednesday 3 March   
Pamoja Hall  6.30pm

Music for a Cause aims to raised awareness of the devastating effect of the Syrian Civil War and raised funds of approximately £1,900 to help rebuild the lives of those who have been physically maimed by the ongoing conflict. The money raised will go to the National Syrian Project for Prosthetic Limbs. The concert featured talented musicians, dancers and bands, both established and up-and-coming, across the year groups from the school.

MUSIC

Maidstone Wind Symphony present

FESTIVAL OF WIND AND BRASS

Saturday 27 February
Pamoja Hall   7.00pm

An evening of big bands and big brass featuring renowned trombonist Brett Baker, the award-winning Orbi Playa Big Band, current National Concert Band Champions Maidstone Wind Symphony and National Brass Band Championship finalists BAE SYSTEMS Brass Band, under the baton of conductor Jonathan Crowhurst. We journied back to the 1940s with Peter Graham's Glenn Miller inspired work Radio City with special guest soloist Brett Baker, before being taken into outer space with Peter Meechan's International Space Station Flyover and Graham's thrilling tale of pioneer John Harrison in Harrison's Dream. The programme also included a world premiere of Simon Dobson's exciting new concerto for trombone and wind orchestra, Shift! This was a unique and innovative concert experience. 

THEATRE

SSTC present Year 9 production

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISSOCIA By Anthony Neilson

Wednesday 3 to Saturday 6 February
Sackville Theatre  7.00pm

Lisa Jones was on a journey. It was a colourful and exciting off-kilter trip in search of one lost hour that tipped the balance of her life. The inhabitants of the wonderful world she found herself in - Dissocia - were a curious blend of the funny, the friendly and the brutal.

Produced originally for the 2004 Edinburgh International Festival, The Wonderful World of Dissocia wowed critics and audiences alike, cleaning up at the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland. This original play, both magical and moving, confirmed Anthony Neilson as one of the major voices in contemporary British theatre. 'Bubbling with inventiveness that is distinctly its own.' Telegraph.

MUSIC

The Thomas Recital

Sunday 31 January 6.00pm Recital Room 
Tickets £8 (£5 concessions)  

Every Year Kent International Pianoforte Courses, directed by Mary Methuen, awards a range of prizes and opportunities as a result of participants' work in classes and competitions. The two performers in this recital are the winners of the under 16 Recital Prize as a result of the impressive performances they gave to the Coursesto tutors such as Professor Ruth Harte MBE, Professor Ruth Gerald and international artist Joanna MacGregor.

James Short and Lou Warnett were worthy winners. Their ease of play and understanding of the pieces made for a very a lovely evening.

MUSIC

Sevenoaks School present

Music Scholars Recital

Friday 29 January   Recital Room   7.30pm   

The Music scholars at Sevenoaks School have acquired a reputation over many years for their technical excellence and musical mastery of leading works in the classical repertoire.

Many of them have won local and national awards and excel in music festivals around the UK. We heard music from Bach and Britten, performed to an exceptional standard by these teenage stars!

MUSIC

Sevenoaks School present

String Platform Recital

Monday 25 January 
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm

The String Platform Concert on Monday 25th January was a chance for the string players in the school to showcase their talents. The concert opened with two items from Sevenoaks Strings, conducted by two of our music scholars: Sophie Westbrooke and Sehee Lim. What a wonderful opportunity for them to have the chance to direct an ensemble! This was followed by six solos, that ranged from movements of violin concertos to harp solos. All of the soloists flourished and enjoyed their opportunity to perform a solo in the Pamoja Hall!

MUSIC

Cantate Choir present Handel's Messiah

in aid of Hospice in the Weald

Saturday 23 January
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm
Tickets £20

Introduced by guest of honour Lord Sackville, the choir performed Handel's masterpiece under the baton of Robin Walker with great musicality and colour. The orchestra 'Vivace!' led by Hazel Brooks, who played on period instruments, were 'as one' and lead the choir with conviction.

Cantate should be congratulated on their choice of soloists: soprano Gillian Keith, counter tenor Francesco Ghelardini, tenor Tom Randle and bass Trevor Eliot Bowes, who all performed with great understanding of the composition style .

The aim of the concert was to raise at least £10,000 and this event. We hope they achieved their goal

THEATRE

SSTC present Lower Sixth studio production

100 By Neil Monaghan, Diene Petterle, Christopher Heimann

Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 January
Ordovsky-Tanaevsky Drama Studio
6.30pm (4.30pm Thursday)

Imagine that you must choose one single memory from your whole life and capture it with a magical camera. Everything else will be erased from your mind forever. Imagine that choosing this memory is your only way of passing through to eternity. You have just one hour to decide... This was a student led adaptation of of the award-winning piece created by theatre company The Imaginary Body.

Read the review here

MUSIC

Creative Performance Workshop Part 2

DOUGLAS FINCH 

Wednesday 6 January Pamoja Hall
12.00 noon to 4.30pm

Douglas Finch is a pianist and composer, known for his innovative and imaginative approach to performance, and for helping revive the lost art of classical improvisation in concert. The workshop was a hands-on session for students to have a go at piano improvisation. It concluded with an improvisation concert in which featured Finch's wizardry at the keyboard.

THEATRE

SSTC present

BRIGHT

Tuesday 1 to Thursday 3 December 

Drama Studio 7.00pm

Clair is bright. Too bright. She crackles with energy. She has a flat, a boyfriend, a life - until one night she loses it all... Sectioned to a psychiatric ward, should Clair comply with the system or defy it? Is she manic, as the doctors tell her, or just too 'bright' for their liking? A play about saving your world, your wits, your spark - your life. Sometimes minds aren't lost. They're stolen.

'Polly Wiseman's first play is an extraordinary account of bipolar disorder, or manic depression. Her writing sears and burns you to feel what it must be like in the manic phase - to be too bright.' Lyn Gardner, Observer

One Act play: no interval

MUSIC

The Band of the Grenadier Guards & Eynsford Concert Band present

FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY

Sunday 22 November

Pamoja Hall 7.00pm

The Band of the Grenadier Guards and Eynsford Concert Band combine for the third year in the Pamoja Hall for a concert of fabulous music and entertainment.

Please join us for a showcase of the spectacular pomp and ceremony of our great nation in one special evening.

This charity concert is being held to raise money for SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association). Please come and show your support for our armed forces and their families at this special event.

THEATRE

Rouge 28 Theatre present

KWAIDAN

Thursday 12 November

Sackville Theatre 7.00pm

Inspired by Japanese ghost stories and horror movies, Kwaidan combines life-sized puppets, acting and video projections.

It tells the story of Haru, a young woman who comes back to her abandoned family house after many years of absence. Strange events happen as the house seems to be inhabited by spirits and ghosts from the past. As the action unfolds, the memory of a terrible event resurfaces.

THEATRE

Rose Theatre Kingston present

MY KINGDOM IS A HORSE!

Tuesday 3 November Sackville Theatre 4.30pm

My Kingdom is a Horse! is a brand new breakneck, irreverent and hilarious history of the Wars of the Roses, from the writer of international stage hit Horrible Histories: the Ruthless Romans, Ciaran McConville, directed by Rosie Jones.

The world's most brilliant actor, David Garrick, prepares for his opening night of Shakespeare's Richard III. For rising star Susannah, tonight is her first ever Shakespeare performance... but she doesn't understand a word! Grumpy Garrick and his long-suffering dresser Bert have just minutes to give her the real lowdown on England's goriest power match: the Yorks vs the Lancasters.

Running time: 50 minutes (no interval). Suitable for ages 7+

THEATRE

FRANTIC ASSEMBLY CREATIVE RESIDENCY

Tuesday 3 to Wednesday 18 November

Sackville Theatre 10am-5pm

Workshops in physicality and devising, for teachers and school pupils.

 

Frantic Assembly creates thrilling, energetic and unforgettable theatre. The company attracts new and young audiences with work that reflects contemporary culture. Their unique physical style combines movement, design, music and text. They have built an enviable reputation as one of the most exciting companies in the country.

In addition to its productions, Frantic Assembly operates an extensive Learn & Train programme introducing participants to the company's process of creating theatre, in a wide variety of settings. 'Vibrant and visceral' The Independent

Free Teacher INSET, Saturday 7 November 10am-5pm

Free public workshop for young people aged 14-19, Sunday 8 November, 1-5pm

Email Annabel Bates asb@sevenoaksschool.org to enquire about bookings.

THEATRE

Sevenoaks School Theatre Company present

THE GOLDEN KEY

Monday 12 to Wednesday 14 October Sackville Theatre 7pm

For over 30 years, the Sevenoaks School Theatre Company has taken a biennial tour production to schools in Germany. This year's production is based on Grimms' Fairy Tales, weaving some familiar narratives, such as 'Hansel and Gretel' and 'The Juniper Tree', with remarkable true stories from Lebanon and Disney Studios.

A highly talented senior company has spent a year exploring and devising material that has been written and shaped into a dynamic theatrical presentation. The Golden Key is a powerful, moving and highly entertaining production that offers an imaginative staging of tales you thought you knew so well.

THEATRE

The Paper Birds present

BROKE

Friday 18 September Sackville Theatre 4.30pm

The Paper Birds returned with a new verbatim show that shares the real life stories from the frontline of poverty and debt in the UK. Broke is a heartfelt and urgent look at the debt of a nation, from displaced families and gambling addictions to beans on toast and blind leaps of faith onto the property ladder.

Based on interviews taken across the UK in 2014, multi-awardwinners The Paper Birds explore what it means to be broke, from 'feeling the pinch' to finding yourself penniless, in this visually stunning new production.

Age suitability: 13+

ART

MAKING IT

Sevenoaks Alumni Exhibition: Invention & Imagination

Sundays 6, 13 & 20 September The Space 11.00 - 4.00pm

Admission FREE

Group private views available by appointment boxoffice@sevenoaksschool.org

Making It is a contemporary exhibition which showcases ten pre-eminent Sevenoaks School alumni who have established international careers as visual thinkers.

The exhibition is curated in collaboration with the Contemporary Art Society. It will feature works by Thomas Heatherwick, creator of the London 2012 Olympic Cauldron and new London Bus, Turner Prize winner Simon Starling, Daiwa Foundation Art Prize 2015 winner Oliver Beer, shoe designer Emma Hope, sculptors Oliver Barratt and Andrew Burton, textile artist Celia Pym, photographer Matt Humphrey, architect Richard Reid and textile designer Sophie Roet.

This is a celebration of invention and imagination: both in the individual practice of each artist and in the exhibition itself, the show expresses a delight in, and respect for the diversities of visual thinking and the hands-on process of making.

MUSIC

ANIMA

Tuesday 15 September Pamoja Hall 7.30pm

ANIMA, an eight-piece contemporary music ensemble, will perform live music alongside animated film clips. Founded and conducted by composer-in-residence Chris Roe, ANIMA consists of some of the UK's most exciting young performers, including Olivia Jaguers (harp) and Minn Majoe (violin), both former students of Sevenoaks School.

Performing a diverse range of audio-visual collaborations from talented emerging composers and animators, the group explores the profound relationship between film and music.

This concert features music by Old Sennockian composers Joanne Sy and Chris Roe, and new compositions from Sevenoaks School Composers' Corner, who will hear their new pieces of film music come to life for the first time!

THEATRE

Lecoq Company Superbolt Theatre present

JURASSIC PARK

Monday 14 September Sackville Theatre 4.30pm & 7.30pm

The celebrated Lecoq company present their award-winning five-star sell-out spin on Spielberg's classic. The Park family welcome you to Lyme Regis for their dinotastic DIY adventure. Raptors may be defeated, but every family has its monsters.

Winner of VAULT Festival's Pick of the Week Award and the Origins Award for Outstanding New Show.

'It's very funny... powerfully touching too.' (Stage)

MUSIC

Rethinking The Traditional 

Billy Hill, Ramon Goose & Special Guests 

Friday 11 September Sackville Theatre 7.30pm

Over the last two years, Billy Hill has been working with guitarist Ramon Goose to develop an acoustic instrumental rocky sound which incorporates bluesy, syncopated rhythms from the Deep South, violin solos, and West African influences.

They have featured several times on BBC Radio 6 Music, and their recording 'Glory in the Meeting House' was chosen by musician and broadcaster Tom Robinson as one of his favourite tracks for 2014.

They have just received an Arts Council award to release a CD of their work, and are promoting this with a small series of gigs.

Season 2014/15

THEATRE

Familia de la Noche Theatre Company present

THE VERY GREY MATTER OF MR EDWARD BLANK

Wednesday 9 September Sackville Theatre 4.30pm & 7.30pm

Edward Blank is extraordinary. A mild-mannered audio typist, he rarely leaves his one-bed flat. But Edward is never alone. His tiny magnolia world is far from empty. Unseen by anybody else, but utterly real to Edward, are an imaginary entourage of maniacal friends all vying for attention and adventures. Edward is happy in his ordinary-extraordinary life, until a voice on an audio-tape changes his world forever.

After the success of The Greatest Liar in All the World, Familia de la Noche return with a brand new production featuring their darkly comic signature style of clowning, live music and storytelling.

MUSIC

The Song Inside

Helen Walker and Friends

Tuesday 30 June, Recital Room 7.30pm

Helen Walker drew upon her long and distinguished singing career together with five players: Anthony Dawson (Tenor), Jane Dawson (Violin), Alison Gent (Flute), Mary Methuen (Piano) and Anita Strevens (Cello) for an evening of song and musical treats.

The programme mainly of song from various countries, was seasoned with solo musical interludes, accompanied, where necessary by Merce Villanueva Molas.

Programme

  • The Singer by Michael Head
  • Music for a while by Purcell
  • G major Suite for Unaccompanied Cello by JS Bach
  • Abendempfindung an Laura
  • Der Zauberer both by Mozart
  • Infant Joy by Vaughan Williams
  • A Poison Tree
  • The Lamb from 'Ten Blake Songs'
  • The Self I Lack from Paul Bunyan all by Britten
  • Vaga Luna by Bellini
  • Praeludium in D minor by Carbonelli
  • Sonata for Two Violins and continuo in G minor by Handel
  • Gretchen am Spinnrade
  • Die Forelle both by Schubert
  • Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen by Mahler
  • Etude in A flat no. 3 (posthumous)
  • Etude in A flat opus 25 no. 1 by Chopin
  • Lydia by Faure Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar
  • How can I keep from singing? Traditional

 

MUSIC

Music for a Summer's Evening

Thursday 25 June, Pamoja Hall

The Space hosted the world premiere of Introduction, Scherzetto and Finale composed by Peter Young and written for Alec Frank-Gemmill Principal Horn of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The piece is for horn and string orchestra for which the orchestra comprising of young professionals and conservatoire graduates, together with local players from Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra coped admirably. The conductor was Chris Atkinson, a post-graduate visiting staff member of Sevenoaks School's Music Department.

The programme  included Mozart's Oboe Concerto in C, K.314, and Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings.

 Alec has been recently chosen to be one of the six BBC Young Generation Artists for 2014-2016.

MUSIC

London Welsh Male Voice Choir

Saturday 20 June, Pamoja Hall,

The London Welsh Male Voice Choir has a long and illustrious history of over 110 years. It has a worldwide following, and has sung in national concert venues such as Bridgewater Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and the Millennium Centre, Cardiff, as well as a number of the country's largest cathedrals.

This concert was the realisation of a long-held ambition by former pupil of Sevenoaks School, Barry Boulton (OS 1947). After joining LWMVC ten years ago, he had the idea to bring both together. 

DRAMA

SSTC Lower School present

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Wednesday 17 to Saturday 20 June Sackville Theatre

Adapted by Peter Hall, with lyrics by Adrian Mitchell and music by Richard Peaslee, this much-acclaimed dramatisation of George Orwell's classic, allegorical novel was first seen at the National Theatre in 1984. The Lower School's modern production re-vamped the play Lord of The Flies style.

A school art class is abandoned and as one teenager begins to read the novel, the farmyard of Manor Farm comes to life around them and the others re-enact the animals' rebellion. Animal Farm is a collaboration between the SSTC, Strangeface Theatre Company and Sevenoaks School Art department, with Sevenoaks students creating their own masks, puppets and animations.

DRAMA

Sevenoaks School Theatre Company

Hecuba

Thursday 11 to Saturday 13 June, Ordovsky-Tanaevsky Drama Studio

Hecuba is a tragedy by Euripides written c. 424 BC. It takes place after the Trojan War, but before the Greeks have departed Troy. The central figure is Hecuba, wife of King Priam, formerly Queen of the now-fallen city. It depicts Hecuba's grief over the death of her daughter Polyxena, and the revenge she takes for the murder of her youngest son Polydorus.

MUSIC

Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra 

Midsummer Classics

Sunday 17 May Pamoja Hall 7.30pm

This concert started with Mendelssohn's light and sparkling overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, which reflected the evening's lovely weather. Then proceeded with Brahms piano concerto No1 in D minor which was both powerful and symphonic, and exploited to the full our fine Steinway piano resident in The Space. To conclude, Beethoven's Symphony No3 in E flat, the mighty 'Eroica' symphony dedicated, until the composer had second thoughts, to Napoleon.

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks

Wednesday 6 May, Pamoja Hall, 7.30pm

This concert programme incorporated music in a range of styles, from folk songs to music from the American band tradition, and from classical arrangements to show song medleys and film soundtracks. 

We were delighted to be joined by visiting primary and prep school players for two of our Wind Band items, following a very successful collaboration last year.

The programme featured The Seal Lullaby, by Eric Whitacre and the Sound of Music and finished with the Lower School Singers performing chart-topping hits and some of their favourite songs.

LECTURE

The Role of Chemists in the Discovery of New Medicines

Thursday 26 March Pamoja Hall

This lecture illustrated how medicinal chemistry continues to lead the discovery of new medicines worldwide. By using specific examples of a modern-day diseases (such as cancer, AIDS, etc.), and applying problem-solving techniques to design molecules that interact with specific biological targets the talk discussed how this will save lives and improve upon quality of life.

The talk highlighted how diverse technologies (such as robotics used originally in the car industry and supercomputers) and ground-breaking discoveries in other scientific fields (biology, analytics, formulation, large-scale chemistry, and engineering) are co-ordinated in the design of new therapeutic agents, with the emphasis being on how chemistry is the core science which makes this possible.

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks ROSSINI - PETITE MESSE SOLENNELLE

Tuesday 24 March Pamoja Hall 

Following a wonderfully successful performance of Dvorak's Stabat Mater the previous year, the Sevenoaks School Choral Society and Parents' Choir joined forces once again and performed one of Rossini's finest musical achievements, his Petite Messe Solennelle. This version, written for four solo voices, chorus, a piano and a harmonium, was referred to by Rossini as 'the last mortal Sin of my Old Age'. Contrasting both the 'old church' style of choral writing with his infectious operatic style, this 90-minute long work is a feast for the ears.

MUSIC

SEVENOAKS SWINGS

Thursday 19 March Pamoja Hall

This traditional Sevenoaks School end-of-term celebration of all things jazz and swing featured the school big band, Middle School jazz band, saxophone quartet and many other ensembles and soloists, plus special guest, the internationally acclaimed saxophonist Simon Bates. Simon is recognised as one of this country's leading jazz saxophonists and appears regularly at Ronnie Scott's, The Jazz Cafe, 606 Club, The Bull's Head and the finest jazz clubs and festivals worldwide.

DRAMA

Sevenoaks School Theatre Company present

THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE by Bertolt Brecht

Tuesday 17 to Saturday 21 March Sackville Theatre

The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Brecht's comic, moving and uplifting tale, centred on the consequences for Grusha, a peasant woman, when she rescues and nurtures the abandoned baby of fleeing nobles. Staged in the round by a talented ensemble cast of 43, the Middle School production focussed on the moral dilemmas of parenting and justice as it entertainingly followed Grusha through many adventures to the test of the Chalk Circle itself.

MUSIC

TOY PIANO SHOWCASE

Tuesday 10 March Pamoja Hall

In another innovative programme of music for the keyboard, Sevenoaks School presented an evening of music based around toy instruments. Masterminded by Sevenoaks School's Head of Keyboard, Mr Tau Wey, the concert featured Leopold Mozart's 'Toy Symphony' as well as other curiosities and delights intended to stimulate and amuse audiences of all ages.

MUSIC

Bromley Youth Chamber Music present A CONCERT OF ORCHESTRAL AND CHORAL FAVOURITES

Sunday 8 March Pamoja Hall

The highly acclaimed Bromley Youth Chamber Orchestra returned to the Pamoja Hall with the Bromley Youth Choir for a concert of orchestral and choral favourites. The concert opened with Bach Suite no.3 (with the famous 'Air on a G String') followed by the much-loved Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus by Vaughan Williams which was performed at the composer's funeral. The second half contained two wonderful baroque choral works - Handel's spectacular 'Zadok the Priest' (BBC Ten Pieces) and Bach's effervescently brilliant setting of the Magnificat.

MUSIC

Bollywood Brass Band 100 YEARS OF BOLLYWOOD

Friday 6 March Pamoja Hall

Funky drummers and a six-piece horn section played massive hits from Indian films, celebrating a century of Hindi films throughout a golden age of Bollywood and beyond. The Bollywood Brass Band played music with video projections from early 1913 footage to present day blockbusters and their super-hit songs.

In aid of the Mulamula Education Centre project.

MUSIC

Sevenoaks School CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

Monday 2 March, Thursday 5 March and Wednesday 11 March Recital Room Sevenoaks School has acquired a formidable reputation in the South East in the field of chamber music. They are regular finalists in Pro Corda's annual national Chamber Music Festival for Schools. Sevenoaks School presents three evenings dedicated to music for the small ensemble and featuring the work of some 60 students.

MASTERCLASS

Lewis Turner and friends GUITAR MASTERCLASS AND CONCERT

Thursday 19 February Sackville Theatre

Lewis Turner, Tom Quayle, Levi Clay and Sam Bell hosted masterclasses throughout the day, with a live gig in the evening, featuring individual and group performances complete with a live band. This was a rare and exciting opportunity to see and pick the brains of some of the UK's top guitarist, and was an educational, inspirational, and fun day. The Masterclasses covered skills needed to be a working guitarist, such as techniques, improvisation, playing over changes, transcribing and ear training, rhythm and timing, sight reading and much more.

MUSIC

FOURNIER TRIO

Thursday 5 February Pamoja Hall

Formed in 2009, the London-based Fournier Piano Trio is rapidly emerging as one of the leading young piano trios. Winners of the 2013 Parkhouse Award, they were awarded both second prize and Audience prize at the sixth Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition in 2011. The trio has made critically acclaimed debuts at both the Purcell Room and Wigmore Hall in London and have also performed widely around the world with concerts in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. This includes a visit to Singapore's Yong Siew Toh Conservatory to give master classes and perform in the 'Ones to Watch' Series.

COMEDY

HYPNOTISM WITHOUT HYPNOSIS Martin S Taylor

Thursday 22 January Pamoja Hall

Martin S Taylor has been a stage hypnotist for over 15 years. Yet he doesn't use hypnosis. His skills combine suggestion, social pressure and obedience. Martin is totally open about what he is doing. His scientific approach means there is no sleep, no trance and no zombie state. The show still has all the laughs, the wonder and the excitement of any hypnotist show you'll see anywhere else and it is safe. No hypnosis is involved; even though his subjects are behaving in bizarre ways, they know what they're doing, and they can resist if they want to.

In aid of Sevenoaks School PROMO charities

MASTERCLASS

PIANO TECHNIQUE WORKSHOP with Alan Fraser

Thursday 15 January Recital Room

Canadian pianist and teacher Alan Fraser is the author of the seminal book on piano technique The Craft of Piano Playing. Fraser’s analysis of the innate structure and function of the human hand unlocks its power, replacing tension or over-relaxation with effective hand activation. Whatever is lacking in your technique, Fraser can see exactly where a new effort can bring your body and hand into better alignment, making your piano tone blossom with new richness and subtlety, and increasing your sense of power and agility! Alan Fraser will lead an Awareness through Movement Feldenkrais group lesson, before coaching selected piano students.

MUSIC

CRASH INTO CHRISTMAS Friday 5 December Pamoja Hall

The Sevenoaks School Jazz ensembles performed in a festive musical extravaganza. The Big Band lead the celebrations with performances of music by Gordon Goodwin, Glen Miller and many more light popular favourites. Also performing was the Sevenoaks School Gospel Choir and Saxophone Quartets.

DRAMA

SSTC Lower Sixth play OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD by Timberlake Wertenbaker Tuesday 2 to Saturday 6 December Sackville Theatre

In 1988, Our Country’s Good premiered at the Royal Court before transferring to the West End and Broadway, winning major awards on both sides of the Atlantic. Wertenbaker’s drama explores the early colonisation of Australia and the redemptive power of theatre, while intelligently debating the philosophical and political arguments around the purpose of prison. Based on the novel The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally, Our Country’s Good explores the true story of a ragtag cast of transported convicts in a penal colony in New South Wales in 1780, who staged Australia’s first ever play. ‘The convicts laugh at hangings, Sir. It’s their theatre.’ Imaginatively staged in the Sackville Theatre to bring the audience into the world and themes of the play, Our Country’s Good will be performed by a talented Lower Sixth ensemble.

MUSIC

Music at Sevenoaks presents RUSSIA

Thursday 27 November Pamoja Hall

2014/15 orchestral music focusses on the music of nineteenth and early twentieth century Russia. The programme included music by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich. The school orchestras were joined by the Wind Band and the Sevenoaks Strings in this annual celebration of the large ensembles at Sevenoaks School.

DRAMA

Les Enfants Terribles presents THE TRENCH

Tuesday 4 November Sackville Theatre

After a sell-out five star run at the Edinburgh Festival, Les Enfants Terribles present their new award-winning show, The Trench. From the team behind Ernest and the Pale Moon, comes a new play inspired by the true story of a miner who became entombed in a tunnel during World War One. As the horror threatens to engulf him, he finds that not everything in the darkness is what it seems as he starts to discover a new, strange world beneath the mud and death. Setting off on an epic journey of salvation, the boundaries between reality and fantasy blur as he questions what’s real, what’s not and whether it even matters.

MUSIC

Eynsford Concert Band and the Band of the Grenadier Guards present HEROES

Sunday 19 October Pamoja Hall

Following the fabulous success of last year’s concert, the world-famous Band of the Grenadier Guards and the Kent-based Eynsford Concert Band are pleased to once again join forces to thrill a packed Pamoja Hall. ‘Heroes’ will include an exciting and entertaining programme of music paying homage to the heroes of the past wars from yesteryear to the present day.

We commemorate and support our armed forces and their families in what promises be another spectacular massed bands event.

All proceeds went to the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association (SSAFA).

MUSICAL THEATRE

Sevenoaks School presents Les Misérables school edition

Wednesday 8 to Tuesday 14 October Pamoja Hall

Sevenoaks school presents this award-winning musical with a cast and band of over 70 pupils. This is the biggest production in the history of The Space.

Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, the plot follows prisoner-on-parole, 24601, Jean Valjean, as he runs from the ruthless Inspector Javert on a journey beyond the barricades at the centre of the rebellion. Meanwhile, the life of a working-class girl with a child is at a turning point as she resigns herself to prostitution in order to pay the evil innkeeper and his wife who look after her child, Cosette. Valjean promises to take care of the child, eventually leading to a love triangle between Cosette, Marius who is a student of the rebellion, and Eponine, a girl of the streets. The people sing of their anger and Enjolras leads the students to fight upon the barricades.

Sculpture Talk and Tour

IN CONVERSATION WITH TWO SCULPTORS

Thursday 11 September, Pamoja Hall

This event celebrated the installation of two sculptural commissions for Sevenoaks school campus. The two artists discussed their work in conversation with Rachel Campbell-Johnston, art critic of The Times and Tony Carter, Principal at City & Guilds. Oliver Barratt was commissioned by the Parents Association to produce a large, painted bronze piece called Thinking Aloud, formed from a complex of curves that describe the intuitive but disciplined act of thinking.

Joshua Vaughan, a recent graduate of City & Guilds London Art College, won a commission to produce a collaborative sculpture, produced with input from pupils from Sevenoaks school. Groups of pupils drew maps of the daily routes they undertake about the school campus and these drawings formed the basis of the sculptures.

DRAMA

Theatre Infinitum presents Ballad of a Burning Star 

Thursday 11 September, Sackville Theatre

Multi-award winning Theatre Ad Infinitum (Translunar Paradise,The Big Smoke & Odyssey) presents an explosive tale. Armed with music, killer heels and a lethal troop of divas an enraged Israeli executes a story of victimhood, persecution, aggression and love. With shrapnel sharp voices and moves as smooth as an oiled tank chain, this cabaret troop invites you on a journey into the core of the conflicted Jewish State. Winner of The Stage Award for Best Ensemble, Best of the Edinburgh Fringe, Guardian and The ‘Sixth Star’ Bobby Award from Broadway Baby.

A thrillingly edgy piece of entertainment

The Scotsman *****

DRAMA

The TOOT Collective presents BE HERE NOW

Tuesday 9 September Sackville Theatre

Music, Life and Love are remixed and re-mastered in TOOT’S Be Here Now, a constantly surprising, occasionally chaotic and irreverently comic look at the soundtrack of the 1990s. This lively and original show celebrates the thrill of anticipation and examines how music can seep into and influence our lives at key moments. TOOT will immerse you in a world of CDs, cassettes and minidiscs, rewinding, fast-forwarding and pausing fantasies, memories, the rawness of love and the music that defines it. Hit repeat and relive together the scenes you play over and over in your head, the potent moments you can’t change, all set to a soundtrack of 90s classics. Pumping 90s beats, suspect dance routines and angsty shoe-gazing combine to celebrate the irresistible power of pop, and examine how that song will forever ignite heady feelings of love lost and won.