Autumn delights at Rhodes

By James Burton

OUR summer nights may have started drawing in, but the Rhodes Arts Complex is offering plenty to look forward to as autumn approaches.

The Bishop’s Stortford venue has unveiled its programme for the new season, which boasts an eclectic mix of big-name productions as well as some smaller-scale events.

It all kicks off in style on September 8 with an appearance by celebrated author Frederick Forsyth, who will discuss his hugely successful career and explain the meticulous research behind his writing.

The 71-year-old ex-Beeb correspondent, whose best-loved works The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Dogs of War have all been adapted into hit films, will also field questions from the audience and talk about his upcoming novel The Cobra.

Two days later, Rhodes will play host to Guardian-acclaimed comedienne and poet Jude Simpson, who is touring with her show Making Happy. The evening, billed as a "recession-busting guide to cheerfulness", blends observational humour with witty wordplay, rhyme, rap and song.

Next up is a trio of concerts by some top musicians. First on are vintage swing supremos King Pleasure and The Biscuit Boys, a nationally-acclaimed six-piece with more than 50 television outings under their belt. Their September 18 show is bound to set pulses racing and get everyone jiving their hearts out.

Following them on September 25 are Stortford’s own Soul Traders, whose breathtaking showmanship and lively re-arrangements of R&B classics had hundreds boogieing at this May’s Stortford Music Festival.

Rounding off the hat-trick is classical guitar virtuoso Robin Hill, whose previous collaborators include the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti and operatic legend Lesley Garrett. His recital will be a tour through the ages, including tunes from Renaissance composers through to the present.

On October 1, a star-studded cast descends on Rhodes for a one-off performance of global stage hit The Vagina Monologues. Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley and Coronation Street’s Sally Lindsay will join Lesley Joseph, best known as gossipy neighbour Dorien Green in BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather, for this special evening.

An exploration of the issues and hardships facing women around the world, the play unfolds in a series of soliloquys as the actresses assume different roles.

October 8 sees a visit from comedian Tony Law, whose laid-back style has been praised as "terrific, effortless… one of the best comedy performances of the year" by The Independent. The well-travelled Canadian, who came to the UK via Trinidad, has appeared on BBC1’s The Stand Up Show and played at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival.

Fans of the fabulous 50s are in for a real treat on October 9, when good-time rock ‘n’ rollers State 51 stop by for Let The Good Times Roll, a celebration of the decade that gave us the likes of Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. The night features such hits as Great Balls of Fire, Rock Around The Clock, Johnny B Goode and many more.

She wowed the world with her high-kicking dance routine on Morecambe and Wise’s 1976 Christmas show, and on October 22 OBE-winning BBC newsreader Angela Rippon is coming to Rhodes to talk about her lengthy and distinguished career.

On top of her many years’ service as a TV reporter, Rippon has presented a range of programmes from quiz shows to Cash In The Attic. She enjoyed a stint as chairwoman of the English National Ballet in the 1990s and has also written children’s books.

And that’s just an appetiser for the feast of fun available at Rhodes this year. Keep checking your Observer over the coming months, when we’ll be casting an eye over the season’s many highlights – as well as a thrilling series of films, concerts and exhibitions themed around the First World War, which launches on September 11.

For more information, including a full line-up, visit www.rhodesbishopsstortford.org.uk or ring (01279) 651746.