Copy
ISSUE 35 : 24TH NOVEMBER 2020 | LATEST NEWS FROM HAFREN ///////////////// www.thehafren.co.uk

Hi All,
Sorry if you missed us last week, I had a few days off and Sharon was extremely busy working on the new website so we decided to give the newsletter a week off!

Last week I went into the box office to do a shift for the first time since we began lockdown. It was very strange to be back and quite different! There are now screens up on the front desk and a one way system through the college. I shall be going into the box office one shift a week to catch up on work I am unable to do from home. At this time Anne, Tamsin and Mark remain on furlough, but hopefully Mark will continue to supply us with stories for the newsletter and it won’t be too long until Anne and Tamsin are back in the box office with me!

Remember if you have anything you would like to share in the newsletter please send to conference@thehafren.co.uk

Stay safe everyone, wash your hands, wear a mask and keep your distance - the virus is everywhere.
Lorna Davies - Editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Newtown Christmas Lights
Switch-on Event


Enjoy the Newtown Christmas lights switch-on event
from the comfort of your own home this year!

The event is going to be live streamed this Saturday, 28th November.
There will be a host of local performers keeping everyone entertained throughout the evening.  These performances are being filmed from various locations across Newtown to ensure everyone adheres to the government guidelines and do not gather in the town centre.


If you require further information or if you would like to get
involved in the event then contact celfyourhealth@gmail.com


Evening TV
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity……………………………..

The opening of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens seems to have been written for today, although written in the 1860s and set during the French Revolution (1789-1799). Many of the greats have starred in film versions including Basil Rathbone (better known for playing Sherlock Holmes), Dirk Bogarde and Ronald Colman; with a 1980 version with Billie Whitelaw and Flora Robson.
It has spawned many a spin off from Baroness Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel to the Carry-on team’s Carry on Don’t Lose Your Head starring Sid James and Kenneth Williams.
However, it’s not these books or films in particular, that I wanted to write about but the relevance of those opening words today. As we all sat tight during April and May and applauded our NHS and Key Workers after those ghastly daily briefings. We’ve watched drama play out in The United States from murders on the street, followed by protest and counter protest egged on by both traditional and Social Media to the straining of democracy (I watched all day from 3:30am).

Who can doubt that we’ve heard voices and seen actions both of wisdom and of foolishness? It is truly an epoch of belief and of incredulity as we are presented with ‘News’ and ‘Fake News’.

So, on dark damp weekend evenings especially, we’ve turned to TV, both current offerings and those of the distant and of the more recent past.

Roadkill with Hugh Laurie follows the political machinations of a minister utterly gripping but so complex it is ideal as binge watching on iplayer.
We have also been gripped on iplayer by The Honourable Woman exploring in a gripping thriller some of the machinations flowing from the Israel/Palestinian conflict - not for the squeamish!
Now you may recall that in the Spring we ended our evenings, after the grisly News at 10pm, with a light comedy from the BBC archive, working our way through every episode of Still Open all Hours and Porridge, well we are at it again - now on series three of The Vicar of Dibley.
For an accessible, abridged version, here is a 1954 radio broadcast starring Sir Laurence Olivier.
 The prescient Charles Dickens goes on: -
………………….it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so like the present period, ………………..

Mark Michaels - Front of House
Showbiz Chatter
Brideshead Revisited
Fondest memories of the 1981 TV series of the original ‘Brideshead Revisited,’ all set for a new TV mini-series with a brand-new production of Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel. The male leads of the all-star cast back then were Anthony Andrews and Jeremy Irons. I was fortunate enough to secure an interview with the dark-haired Irons - not easy as the pair were in huge demand. I woke on the day the interview was to take place to thick snow on the ground and icy roads.
  
I waited for a phone call from Granada Television, whose production it was, to tell me the interview was cancelled, as I felt it would be - roads were difficult and Irons lived way out of London. None came. Convinced that the actor wouldn’t be able to make it, I couldn’t take that chance. So, I set out to walk from our house down the steep hill, slippery with ice, from our house to the Underground station to catch a train into London.

Fortunately, the trains were running - but spasmodically.  I made it to the TV offices in London’s Golden Square just ten minutes before a snow-booted Irons arrived. Both having been convinced that the other wouldn’t make it, we congratulated each other on braving the weather - and I got a great interview. So, I am waiting with bated breath to see how Andrew Garfield will fare in the role played by Irons in the original - that of the anguished artist Charles Ryder, who befriends the aristo teddy-bear loving Sebastian Flyte when they are both at Oxford University.  Invited to visit ‘Brideshead,’ the stately home of the Flyte family, Ryder becomes involved in the family problems.

This time around, the new mini-series - filming due to start in the spring - boasts a star cast, but I can’t help wondering if it will live up to the original, which had Sir Laurence Olivier playing the testy Lord Marchmain, head of the family and Claire Bloom as the staunchly observant Catholic Lady Marchmain. Ralph Fiennes will play Marchmain this time around and Cate Blanchett will play Lady Marchmain.

The TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s original novel portraying the decadence of the era in which it was set was compulsory Sunday night viewing for many back in the Eighties. I have a gut feeling that this will be the case this time around but we will have to wait and see! Barbara Michaels
Our Forthcoming Online Christmas Shows
HAFREN AT HOME
ONLINE CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA!

SANTA'S CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

For the first time ever, Santa is presenting his hugely popular, sell-out show online and it's coming to screens across the world via Zoom this December!

Enjoy our livestream of the show, meet Father Christmas and friends virtually afterwards and send your Christmas messages for Cosmos the Elf to share LIVE - it's the most Christmassy Christmas show ever
all from the comfort of your home!

Sunday 20th December, 2.00pm
Family Tickets available at just £11.29 per household!

(includes £1.29 Eventbrite booking fee)
Tickets are limited so book yours from Eventbrite now!

Tickets and info here....

Santa’s Christmas Countdown is a family show, suitable for all ages but particularly 2 to 7 year olds. Check out the trailer here!

HAFREN AT HOME
THAT'LL BE THE DAY CHRISTMAS SHOW


Let THAT'LL BE THE DAY Christmas Special get you in to the Christmas spirit with a sparkling mix of Christmas hits, fun and nostalgia from the comfort of your home!
Don't let LOCKDOWN dampen your spirits, get your tickets now and look forward to a night of foot stomping, toe tapping, rib tickling, rockin and rolling festive fun!

SUNDAY 6TH DECEMBER, 7.00PM
Tickets and info here:
https://www.thatllbetheday.events/thea.../the-hafren-newtown
Check out TBTD's Christmas Show trailer here.

Home Is Where The Art Is!

Zoe is back with her live, relaxed paint-along tutorial every Thursday from 5.00pm via Zoom. Suitable for all abilities and ages.

Request the Zoom link in advance by messaging ‘Zoe Mach Community Artist’ on Facebook or emailing zoemach@gmail.com

Art with Zoe Mach, a Hafren Community Initiative with funding from Arts Council Wales.

Lockdown Theatre, in association with Acting for Others, presents
For One Knight Only
Sunday 29th November, 7 - 8.30pm

Well it does star our good friend Sir Ian, and our favourite
Wednesday Movie matinee actresses!!!

Sir Kenneth Branagh hosts a quatrain of theatrical Dames and Knights of the realm for an evening of intimate chat, with you as the guests.
Further info here: http://www.rtflockdown.com

To view the full 10-page Business Update, please click here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACW COVID CULTURAL RECOVERY FUND UPDATE
Hafren would like to thank the Arts Council of Wales for it’s successful bid in revenue funding awarded from the COVID Cultural Recovery Fund to cover ongoing operational support and maintenance for the building.
Hafren wishes to thank the Arts Council of Wales for the
Sustainability Funding (Covid 19) Grant they have been awarded
to cover ongoing operational support and compliance for the building.
Twitter
Facebook
Website
Copyright © 2020 All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
The Hafren, Llanidloes Road, Newtown, SY16 4HU

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.