The Gloucestershire Youth Players (GYP) group was founded in September 2007 by Edward Derbyshire, for young actors over the age of 16. The group was designed to complement the Gloucestershire Young Shakespeare Theatre, or GYST (the only UK based company for 12-16 year olds performing solely Shakespeare, uncut and unprompted) which began in 2005.   The GYP are an entirely voluntary-aided company dependent upon ticket sales and donations for our survival.

In 2008 the group performed Twelfth Night and were delighted to be invited to perform at Longborough Festival Opera and the RSC Dell Gardens, things continued to grow and in 2009 the group performed their production of Hamlet. 

In 2010 things the group performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream; there were four performances of this darkly humorous, highly-paced, energetic show at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Dell Theatre, with audiences exceeding 250 per show. The group were also privileged to perform once again at Longborough Festival Opera. Amongst the reviews received, the group were thrilled to hear that they ‘engaged youngsters who were quite sceptical about Shakespeare’ and that it was considered ‘the best show yet by GYP.’

2011 looks set to be the biggest and most exciting season so far for GYP, with a return to Longborough Festival Opera performing The Taming of the Shrew. GYP are also delighted to have Felicity Montagu on board now as their Patron.

The Gloucestershire Youth Player’s aims are to bring invigorating versions of Shakespeare’s texts to audiences in and around Gloucestershire.  The focus is to give young people a springboard into the brilliance of one of the greatest playwrights in the English language by producing these seminal texts with an ensemble based company of serious young performers, attempting to make it accessible and imaginative in its interpretation whilst keeping as faithfully as possible to the text.

Find out more on the GYP website

So what have we got for you?
We’ll have demonstrations and workshops from cooking legends such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Richard Corrigan, Yotam Ottolenghi, Fergus Henderson and Mark Hix. Hone your skills at the Daylesford pop up cookery school or get digging at a gardening workshop with Monty Don or Alys Fowler. We’ll be toasting your health at the HIX Champagne and Seafood Bar but also browsing the artisan producer market and sampling some of the finest street food the UK has to offer. We can’t possibly fit it all in here so please do check the full line up on the website.

The soundtrack to your weekend will be in safe hands. Our good friend KT Tunstall will headline Sunday night and we simply can’t wait to share the delight that is Fat Freddy’s Drop – all the way from New Zealand for Harvest alone this summer. The rousing Futureheads and newcomer Benjamin Francis Leftwich will be joined on the music stage by so many more bands – to be announced very soon. We’re also very proud to welcome Communion (Mumford & Sons side project) to Harvest who will be curating our second music stage along with the brilliant Notting Hill Arts Club.

We have a whole host of exciting and uplifting treats for all the family. Charlie and Lola will be bringing their award winning stage show, Best Bestest Play to the big top. The global hit spectacularly mixes 2-D and 3-D worlds adapted from some of the freshest and funniest episodes. We are also honoured to be welcoming Opera Holland Park and their adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic Fantastic Mr Fox By Tobias Picker & Donald Sturrock.

In between these amazing roaming shows there will be adventures, games, street theatre, workshops (including conducting your own orchestra!), circus skills and bubbles. We love bubbles.

For those of you joining us for the whole weekend, we have teamed up with our great friends at Yurtel to bring you the Harvest Hotel. Forget everything you know about camping and treat yourself to an indulgent weekend of the highest quality glamping, Harvest style! Check out Alex James Presents Harvest for all the details.

The Cornbury Festival is one-of-a-kind: an eclectic and eccentric musical carnival – a dynamic summer festival disguised as a country fayre – a lovingly crafted, top notch, very English open air party, tailor-made for the whole family.

Like the best of England, Cornbury is eccentric, charming and irresistible – a homespun melting pot where music-lovers share pies and a glass of champagne with superstars, toffs, rockers, crooners, Morris dancers, farmers, urbanites, fashionistas, gourmet chefs and the little old ladies who make exceptional cakes.

This year’s Cornbury Festival has all this and more and is gearing up to be one of the hottest tickets of the summer, especially as the Saturday night headliner is the newly reunited Faces, featuring original members Ronnie Wood, Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan with vocalist Mick Hucknall. This is their only festival appearance in the UK this summer. More legends will be appearing, in the shape of national treasure Ray Davies, 1980s pop legend Cyndi Lauper, the one and only Status Quo and Buffy Sainte Marie.

The new guard is equally strongly represented with: international troubadour James Blunt; the real star of the 2009 X Factor, Olly Murs; Irish superstar Imelda May; and pop princess Eliza Doolittle. Also appearing are folk heroes Bellowhead, disco diva Sophie Ellis Bextor, and perfect Californian popsters The Like.

In short, The Cornbury Festival represents classic summer entertainment for a friendly crowd from all walks of life. A country fair with a rock ‘n’ roll twist; a farmers’ market with a dancefloor; a magical local carnival with a classic contemporary soundtrack.

Acts announced so far:

Friday July 1st                    Saturday July 2nd             Sunday July 3rd

James Blunt                        The Faces                            Status Quo

Cyndi Lauper                      Ray Davies                          Olly Murs

Eliza Doolittle                    Imelda May                          ‘secret slot’

Bellowhead                         Sophie Ellis Bextor           The Saw Doctors

Buffy Sainte Marie               The Like                               Jon Allen

Further artists will be announced over the coming months – check the Cornbury Music Festival website for details.

Along the way there will be six public weekend events, one in each district. At each site there will be art workshops, guided walks, donkey grooming, and opportunities to camp.

We’d love you to join us for one or more of these activities or go the whole hog and volunteer to walk a leg of the journey with us.

Weekend Dates:

Stroud

Westley Farm, Chalford GL6 8HP. 26th – 27th June 2010

Cotswolds

Cotswold Forest School, Spine Road East, Cotswold Water Park. 3rd – 4th July 2010

Cheltenham

Cheltenham Race Course GL50 4SH. 17th – 18th July 2010

(Priority Booking for disabled young people and their families)

Tewkesbury

Nature in Art, Twigworth GL2 9PA. 23rd – 24th July 2010

Gloucester

Over Farm, Gloucester GL2 8DB. 30th – 31st July 2010

Forest of Dean

Millers Farm, Blakeney GL15 4AP. 14th – 15th August 2010

‘As I Walked Out’ is part of Gloucestershire’s cultural Olympiad programme of events, sponsored by Gloucestershire County and District Councils. For more details see www.asiwalkedout.com.

New to portraits or simply wanting to explore fresh techniques, this three day, step by step workshop is right for you. Conducted in a positive, fun and non-judgemental way, you will gain confidence and be enthused by what you can achieve with a little help and encouragement.

Day 1: Discuss your work and ambitions followed by a demonstration showing preparation, drawing techniques and fixing. You will then prepare your canvas and produce a drawing ready for the next stage in the process.

Day 2: Slide show, talk and discussion on portrait techniques followed by a demonstration showing glazing methods. You will then work on your own painting to produce a tonal picture, using glazes, in readiness for colour.

Day 3: Interactive session to explore painting styles followed by a demonstration showing colour mixing and impasto techniques. You will then complete your portrait!

Worskhops are running on May 26th – 28th,  June 23rd – 25th and July 28th – 30th.

For more information contact Cathy Shaw on: 01367 252 206 or email: cathy@mike-skidmore.com.

This month sees the launch of a exciting new photography competition celebrating the beauty of the Cotswolds and giving you the chance to have your image showcased in a six week high profile exhibition at O3 gallery, Oxford Castle.

The competition is the idea of local landscape photographer Sarah Howard, supported by the Cotswolds Conservation Board and Blueprint Imaging of Witney.  Sarah has lived in the Cotswolds for much of her life and has a particular affinity with the region.  She is especially keen to promote its photographic potential;  “Photography has seen a surge in popularity recently and with spring now here there’s no better time to get out there with your camera, make use of its wonderful creative potential, and engage with our lovely surroundings”.

Officially designated as the largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the country, the Cotswolds is known for being one of the most quintessentially English and unspoiled regions of the UK.  With its gentle hillsides, river valleys and delightful honey coloured villages there is plenty to offer the photographer.  

The overall winner will take away a 2 night stay (including dinner on one evening) at the historical White Hart Royal Hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh, plus a one day one to one photography workshop in the Cotswolds with Sarah.   There are plenty of other fantastic prizes to be won too, including a fabulous Ricoh R10 camera for the overall youth winner, a half day Photoshop tuition with digital imaging expert Claire Reika Wright, a Manfrotto 190 XDB tripod and Lowepro mini trekker, courtesy of Morris Photographic plus a one years subscription to Outdoor Photography magazine and over £300 worth of Image Seen gift vouchers.   There will also be an opportunity to win a commission for local Cotswolds publication The Four Shires in 2011. 

The competition is open until 15^th October & entries will be judged at the end of October.

Full details can be found at www.imageseen.co.uk/cotswolds-photography-competition

Cities reflect the variety and vibrancy of different cultures and the exhibition, Cities, includes the work of several contemporary British artists for whom the city fascinates and stimulates. The exhibition offers distinctive and diverse interpretations of the atmosphere and life of some of Europe’s major cities –including London, Paris, Florence, Rome and Venice. The everyday rhythms, energy, colour and movement of city life are explored in a variety of media against a backdrop of lively buildings and urban scenes in all the seasonal variation of atmosphere and light.

See www.redraggallery.co.uk for full details.

The Plough’s upstairs dining room will be adorned with an exhibition of Jeremy Houghton oil or watercolour Flamingo paintings.  Meanwhile one of the cleverest kitchens in the Cotswolds will be serving pink drinks and canapes. You are invited to view the exhibition from 6 – 8.30pm in the upstairs dining room.

To reserve a place, call 01608 658838 before Monday 26th April.

Our first festival ‘In The Margins’ is a short celebration of the art of writing and joy of reading, exploring the theme of what it is to be on the edge of society.

By offering lively, entertaining, and informative events including interviews with Man Booker and Orange Prize listed authors, a big book group, a panel discussion, poetry readings, lectures and workshops in various venues within the town, we hope to achieve a sharing of ideas on the solitary pursuits of reading and writing.

Authors and events include William Boyd, Patrick Gale, Amanda Craig, Adam Foulds, Samantha Harvey, Michael Arditti, Lindsay Mackie and Sheila Hayman.

The historic Cotswold market town of Chipping Campden is said to have one of the most beautiful high streets in the country and is frequently described as the “jewel in the crown” of the Cotswolds.

More information on the literature festival can be found here.

GET OUTDOORS AND INVOLVED THIS SPRING

Spring events for everyone at Westonbirt – the National Arboretum

Westonbirt – the National Arboretum, which is managed by the Forestry Commission, has launched 2010 with a packed calendar of spring events.

New for visitors is the International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition. During April and May, an exclusive collection of photography from the trees category of this prestigious international award will be on display on the historic Downs area.

The Easter Challenge, Mothering Sunday ‘Family Trees’ and ‘Awakening Woods’ events will give families the chance to explore the outdoors, as Westonbirt’s flowers and trees awake from the winter. 

Visitors will also get a rare and exciting opportunity on April 12-13 to discover the whole historic Westonbirt estate. Guided tours and access to the house, gardens and Arboretum are included in the normal admissions price across these two days.

There’s also guided wildflower walks, photography courses, wood sales and charity events. Throughout April and May, visitors on Wednesdays will receive 50 per cent discount on admissions.

Visit www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt for full details on Westonbirt Arboretum events listings.