Aylesbury arts centre reveals what's on in May including live music performances

Included within the May line-up is a gig from Purple Zeppelin, a band dedicated to covering both Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.

Queens Park Arts Centre (QPAC) is as always running a host of workshops, performances, exhibitions and special events too.

Workshops

Weekly art workshops will run throughout the month with more than 60 classes on offer from Monday to Saturday.

Newcomers can join at any time during the term, with tutors on hand to welcome students of all levels of experience in topics such as pottery, painting and drawing, woodwork, needlecraft, jewellery making, drama, music, and dance.

A new class is being launched on 21 May that will teach students the basics of Mandarin Chinese.

On 15 May Sunday Special one-day classes will run throughout the day.

Sessions include stained glass and silver jewellery making, a chance to weave a tufted wall hanging, a walking art trail

taking inspiration from historic Aylesbury buildings, a pottery session exploring how to use slip to decorate ceramics, and the return of the raku pottery firing.

Additional short courses on offer in May include a three-week ‘Acrylics for Beginners’ class, staring 7 May, a five-week ‘Knitting for Beginners’ course from 9

May, a six-week ‘Interior Design’ course (10 May), a two-week ‘Raffia Hat’ workshop (20 May), a one-day class making ‘Raffia Lampshades’ (28 May), and a half-day session in ‘Clothed Life Drawing’ for teens (30 May).

Limelight Theatre

The Stevie Watts Organ Trio is performing live on 6 May, featuring a guest appearance from Alice Armstrong.

Purple Zeppelin is returning performing classics from Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin’s back catalogue on 21 May.

The award-winning Unbound, will present Storyteller Improv on 28 May.

Organisers are promising a mix of brilliantly-funny scenes and stories, including an epic fairy-tale adventure, and a case from the sinister Fothergill Files.

Exhibitions and Events

Two free-to-view exhibitions can be seen at QPAC in May.

QPAC’s main Artisan gallery space will be hosting work from father-and-daughter ceramic artists Chris and Freya Bramble.

Their collection is part of the Queens Park Pottery Festival, which runs until 18 May. Chris and Freya will be hosting a Pottery Masterclass on

Saturday 14 May, demonstrating their artistic techniques and processes for aspiring potters of all ability levels.

Meanwhile, QPAC’s coffee bar will be welcoming paintings by David Chasey, on display until

8 June.

A QPAC spokesman said: “Having painted in watercolour for most of his life, David suffered a major stroke in 1999.

"Painting played a significant part in his recovery, and David has produced a large body of work since then, reflecting his love for transport, flowers and portraiture, particularly paying homage to composers, engineers and scientists.”

Events

In addition to its Pottery Festival, QPAC is organising special events and performances in Aylesbury town centre and beyond.

The Unbound Storytellers will be at Wycombe Museum on 1 May, performing brand-new tales inspired by exhibits in the museum’s extensive collection. ‘Wycombe Tales’ is part of a special ‘Chilterns Landscapes’ Art Exhibition Children’s Day, and features tales of wicked wagers, lace-making fairies, and singing squirrels in straw boaters.

On the weekend of May 7 and 8, Aylesbury Town Council’s walking play, The March of Time, returns.

It is produced by QPAC’s Unbound team and features a swashbuckling adventure with time-traveller Professor Chronomier, who finds herself exploring the life of the man behind the statue, John Hampden, in a fast-paced retelling of the English Civil War.

Only something’s amiss with history, and fixing it could cost the Professor everything. The clock tower awaits.

The following week, on 14 May, the Unbound Sketchbook will be bringing their latest tour ‘Mind the Gap’ to the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre’s Norman Bragg Studio.

A talented team will be performing a plethora of pages from the comedy sketch book.

More information on the May programme can be found on QPAC’s website here.

The art centre is also available to follow on social media @queensparkarts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.