A foot-tapping climax to the 2015 Cookham Festival. The Cantorum Choir has delighted Festival audiences on many occasions in the past and they did not disappoint at the closing concert for the 2015 Festival. But there was a difference. No Passions, no Oratorios (or is that oratori?). This time we were treated to a wide […]
Regulation 18B:No Free Man by Scott Wright had it’s premier at Cookham Festival, this was followed by a short tour. The play is as relevant to the issues facing the current Home Secretary as it was in 1940, it has been reviewed in the National Press, you can read the article from The Times here. “[Wright], the Anglophile […]
What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than dancing in lovely surroundings with a delicious tea!” So said one of the dancers at the end of the Tea Dance held at the Odney Club on the last Sunday afternoon of the Cookham Festival. He spoke for all the participants. The event was a sell-out: […]
One of London’s finest and most versatile professional Jazz Bands struck exactly the right note on Friday night for the Cookham Festival. Clint’s Jazz Band took us step by step from soft jazz classics, through foot-tapping swing, exciting bee-bop and then into a first-rate evening of popular dancing. Such a smooth performance was quite irresistible. […]
Gavin Henderson, Partnership Archivist at the John Lewis Partnership Heritage Centre, on Grove Island explained to an enthralled audience the history of the textile archive, which is now housed in the Heritage Centre. The collection’ origins were in the Stead McAlpin print works in Cummersdale near Carlisle in the early19th century. Printing methods included the […]
Here’s what people said about the Peter Wilson’s Comedy Club evening. “I think that I must have been to all the Festival Comedy Clubs, and this was definitely the best.” “I’ve never been to a Comedy Club before. It was brilliant and I have seen Cookham people that I have never seen before.” “From the […]
The workshops proved a great success, with everyone having a fun creative time. The variety of work produced was amazing and all to a high standard. Overall it was a fantastic weekend of creativity with many people leaving with a sense of achievement and some very tired tutors! Fabulous Beasts This workshop gave children the […]
Described in the Festival Brochure as a ‘fun-packed’ evening, the sing-a-long, ‘Wouldn’t it be Loverly’, lived up to all expectations. Led from the piano by Neil Matthews and supported by the Maidenhead Music Comedy Society, the audience sang their way through all the well-known and well-loved songs from My Fair Lady. The audience, encouraged by […]
This dramatised reading was a brilliant cauldron of vignettes depicting life during the Great War; giving swirling glimpses of life at the front and of the specific impact it had on the village life of the Cookham’s. We were reminded not only of the horror of the front but also of the dreaded knock on […]
The Wine and Canvas evening at Bel and the Dragon was so popular that one session was sold out before the tickets had been printed. Maybe it was the lure of the wine! Everyone enjoyed themselves and produced some amazing results.
This promised to be an enjoyable evening, listening to ‘up and coming talent’ and good music too. It did not disappoint. The choice of music ranged from Purcell to Poulenc with a variety of instruments used including voice and euphonium. Many of the soloists were accompanied by Jean Garrett who provided musical and moral support […]
A wonderful talk was given by the Maidenhead Quilters at The John Lewis Heritage Centre. Jocelyn Stevens introduced the audience to the delights of quilting and demonstrated many examples of her work and the different techniques involved. I was particularly interested in the quilts they made for children who have experienced family problems and the […]
Children from 2 weeks to 3 years old and their grown ups filled the Cookham Rise Methodist Church for a varied and light-hearted programme of music for two flutes, presented by Julia Bentley-Dawkes and Victoria Dawkes and accompanied on the piano by Jean Garrett. The programme comprised music from Swan Lake, The Flower Duet by […]
Audiences at Pinder Hall were transported back to the 1940s and the recording of two episodes of the hit radio drama “Dick Barton, Special Agent,” complete with a BBC Radio announcer properly dressed in a DJ! The Pinder Hall audience played an important part in the production, as the studio audience, booing, shouting and hissing […]
A packed cricket club was treated to a sublime evening of entertainment, provided by a team of local artists who supplied poetry and music, laughter and tears and left all who had the luck to be there with abiding memories of the Great War, as reflected in its poetry and popular music. The show […]
Children from the four Cookham primary schools (Herries, Cookham Dean, Cookham Rise and Holy Trinity, Cookham) joined together as a large combined choir, directed by Liz Croft, to present a wonderful concert to a packed audience of all ages. There were a number of short pieces to start, one of which included a quartet, followed […]
25 people, a mixture of couples and singles, attended the Strictly Cookham Beginners’ Dance course. 26 is a good upper limit, 30 would be too many for a beginners’ class. Three people who had attended the dance class at the last Cookham Festival came along for a second go! The cost of the course of […]
On Saturday 2nd May, the first eager artists turned up at the Odney Club, armed with easels, painting paraphernalia and their canvases ready to be stamped; ready to embark on the challenge of painting somewhere in Cookham, in the open air. Over the weekend 21 adults and 9 children took part in the event which […]
Shakespeare came alive last week in Pinder Hall with the Peoples Shakespeare transporting us to the Tudor world of intrigue, humour, drama and crisscrossing plots. Under the brilliant direction of Richard James the people of Cookham donned their costumes and convincingly became the characters in this play. The use of space and the clear drawing […]
The Women of Britain do their Bit We were lucky to have one of the country’s experts to add to the Festival’s programme of World War 1 events. Edward Dixon, who lives in Pinkneys Green, treated his audience at the Methodist Church to a fascinating insight into the impact of the Great War on the […]
Recital by Jonathan Wood and Victoria Mander-Wood with Sara Wood (piano) A delightful song recital was given by the young professional singers Jonathan Wood (baritone), and Victoria Manders-Wood (soprano), accompanied by Sara Wood (piano), in Cookham, Holy Trinity Church on Sunday May 10th. British and North American songs were performed with strong folk-song influences, and […]
“A Cookham Remembrance” at Moor Hall was an exhibition of about 600 old photographs featuring old Cookham parish – the village, Rise and Dean – illustrating our pretty lanes and streets, buildings and views, with the people who have lived here and their lives and activities. It was most […]
The Rose Ensemble treated a sell-out audience in St John the Baptist Church, to a brilliant choral concert on Saturday afternoon. The group of eight singers, brought together for the Cookham Festival by husband and wife team of Julia and Ed Millard, had been singing colleagues in the larger National Youth Chamber Choir, when they […]
You are invited to an exhibition of old local photographs A Cookham Remembrance at MOOR HALL, Cookham (entrance free) Friday 8th, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May – 10.30am-4.30pm An exhibition of about 600 old photographs featuring old Cookham parish – the village, Rise and Dean – illustrating our pretty lanes and streets, buildings and […]
Professional actor/singer and Cookham resident, Babs Christian, is delighted to be performing at the Cookham Festival. This year as part of Kaos Kabaret, she will play the role of Marta Heartburn in a spoof of the famous BBC series ‘Dick Barton: Special Agent’. Passionate about acting and singing, Babs studied opera under Evelyn Nicholson – […]
The Sculpture Garden at Odney opened on Friday night with a private viewing for invited guests and Barn Galleries clients. The collection was enthusiastically received by the guests, who, even if a little chilly, enjoyed perusing the stunning exhibits with a glass in hand. They were wowed in particular by the giant glass and galvanised […]
Saturday 9 May, 10am to 5pm Free Entry. Sir Bernard Miller Centre, Odney Club, Odney Lane, SL6 9SR View all the paintings of Cookham entered in the Open Air Painting Competition for two days only.
“I love challenging people to try something new – that’s when I believe we can discover things about ourselves that we might never have considered before,” says Richard James, professional actor and playwright. It’s that ethos that inspired him to start The People’s Shakespeare. “In 2010, I was approached by Mike Copland, who was then […]
The Cookham Festival has a history of looking for new and innovative acts, and providing something for everyone. This spirit is perhaps best embodied in Julia Bentley-Dawkes. She’s no stranger to the Cookham Festival, having performed in a concert for two flutes and a piano in 2011, but this year she’s got something a little […]
Ruth Daniel and five of her fellow Maidenhead Quilters have designed and sewn a beautiful wall hanging based on a collage of works by Stanley Spencer. It will feature in a talk to be given during the Festival. When we think of quilting, perhaps the first thing that springs to mind is a patchwork bed […]
Whilst Cookham might not yet have played host to Banksy’s artwork by stealth, a new and slightly more unusual form of graffiti is about to hit the village. When the ladies of the Cookham knit and natter group were asked to provide an exhibition piece for the 2015 Festival, they came up with a very […]
Brought up in Cookham, portrait painter Matthew Burley uses original photographs to create unique and highly realistic art work. His affection for the village brings him back to the Festival. From his early childhood Matthew has always been interested in painting and drawing. His mother worked in animation and his father is an architect so […]
When most of us think of storytelling, we imagine children tucked up in bed, or possibly a spooky story told around a campfire in the woods. But for David England, the appeal of storytelling is far more universal. “I tell stories in all sorts of places – festivals, private events, even weddings. In fact, over […]
Visit the many exhibitions open to the public during the festival. [add_posts category=exhibitions full=true h=3 show=40]
Why not try some of our activities including dancing, walking and painting [add_posts category=activities h=3 full=true show=40]
A wide range of arty activities to participate in including painting, glass light catchers, charcoal sketching and Pottery. Sponsored by Bluematchbox Potter’s Supplies [add_posts category=arts-hub full=true h=3 show=40]
A fabulous range of Drama from comedy to play readings and Cookham’s very own People’s Shakespeare. [add_posts category=drama full=true h=3 show=40]
Music to suit everyone’s taste why not sample our eclectic mix [add_posts category=music full=true h=3 image=true show=20]
Plays and Comedy to entertain you [add_posts category=comedy full=true h=3 show=40]
