What’s On: Week 5

It’s Week 5 and we all don’t really want to be here any more, but Culture’s got a few reasons for you to stick around.

Theatre

Dido Queen of Carthage – Tuesday-Saturday- 8pm, Emmanuel Chapel (Saturday – Senate House) – £16/8 (book here)

An exceptionally exciting performance of Marlowe’s adaptation of the Virgilian story of scorned woman, Queen Dido. Performed Tuesday-Friday at the Emmanuel College Chapel (a beautiful specimen designed by Christopher Wren), the play will on Saturday move to Senate House for a black tie event preceded by a gala drinks reception (for which tickets can be bought here – though on the expensive side at £40 a pop).

H.M.S. Pinafore – Thursday-Saturday – 7.45pm, Upper Hall, St. Andrews Street Baptist Church – £10/6 (book here)

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society (for which, since seeing The Mikado, Culture has had a bit of a soft spot) introduce this year’s Freshers’ Show, the lovestory of sailor Jack Rackstraw and the captain’s daughter, Josphine. Leave feeling sillier than you came.

Film

Gloria – Thursday – 1.15 & 8.30pm, Arts Picturehouse (book here)

Sebastian Lelio’s perspicacious take on Chile’s acquisitive middle class and their moral impotence, this film sees Gloria (a 58-year-old Chilean woman played by Paulina Garcia) trying to make the most of the freedom afforded her by her recent divorce. Let’s hope this seasoned TV actress can make the move to the big screen.

Gravity – ongoing, Arts Picturehouse (book here)

Mexican Director Alfonso Cuaron (think Pan’s Labyrinth, think Children of Men) returns with what is already being billed as an Oscar-worthy film about two astronauts, played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, fighting to survive out in the ether. Clooney, who starred in Stephen Soderbergh’s Solaris remake, is no stranger to space, and together with Cuaron and the technical expertise of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, Culture sees very little that could go wrong here.

Music

Method Autumn Cambridge Special – Thursday – 10pm, Fez (more info here)

Le Jockey, Koko Kitscha, Stuart Banks, Looped and Sounds of Joah come together for a finely-curated night of musical entertainment.

The Breakfast Show – daily – 8-10am, Cam FM, 97.2 FM (more info here)

Spring out of bed with some morning chat and choonz!

Miscellaneous

Reginald D. Hunter – Sunday – 2pm, The Cambridge Union Society – members only (more info here)

See the American stand-up comic (of ‘Have I Got News For You’ and ‘8 Out of 10 Cats’ fame) doing some equally amusing siting down at the Union.

CU Food Society Fudge-Making Workship – Wednesday – 5.30pm, The Fudge Kitchen – £15 (more info here)

Learn the secrets of the legendary Fudge Kitchen fudge-making, and get a slice of fudge to take home. Scrumptious.

Hammer & Tongue Poetry Slam – Wednesday – 8pm, The Fountain – £5/3.50 (more info here)

See some fantastic spoken word from slam veterans Stephen Morrison-Burke and support act Riaz Moola. Not only this, but you can sign up to compete yourself – 8 people will be selected at random from the sign-up sheet to be given a 3-minute slot in which anything from sonnets to hip-hop can be performed. The winners will go through to the regional final. Come to watch or compete!

An Evening With Donna Tartt – Wednesday – 7pm, The Goldfinch – £10/7 (book here)

Come and be regaled with stories by the bestselling author of The Secret History and The Little Friend, as part of the Cambridge Wordfest.