Five of the best; things to do in Banburyshire during the next week

Whether comedy is your thing or the theatre there is plenty going on in and around Banbury over the next seven days starting with a comedy legend at the Mill Art Centre tonight.
Lee HurstLee Hurst
Lee Hurst

1 COMEDY

Lee Hurst: Mucking About, The Mill, Banbury, November 2, 7.30pm.

The Accrington PalsThe Accrington Pals
The Accrington Pals

The star of BBC One’s They Think It’s All Over is back on the road with his brand new show, Mucking About. Hurst shuns the current vogue for comedians to imbue their routines with political or philosophical themes, promising a night of jokes and little else. He said: “There’s no journey or message. If you want to go on a journey, buy an aeroplane ticket. If you want a deep message, run your voicemail through a sub-bass woofer. If you want plenty of laughs this is for you.”

2 MUSIC

Warriner Choral Society, Church of St Peter and St Paul, Deddington, November 3, 7.30pm.

Warriner Choral SocietyWarriner Choral Society
Warriner Choral Society

Warriner Choral Society, North Oxfordshire’s largest choral society, is readying itself for its next concert. Under the baton of long-term musical director Martin Quinn, the singers present a concert of beautiful baroque music, featuring the music of Handel and Vivaldi. The concert opens with Vivaldi’s Gloria – a much -loved choral mainstay which had laid undiscovered for almost 200 years when it was found in the 1920s. It is followed by Handel’s Dixit Dominus, written when the composer was only 22 and regarded as one of his finest works. The singers will be accompanied by baroque orchestra and professional soloists soprano Keren Davis, mezzo Imogen Garner, tenor Guy Withers and bass Mark Saberton.

3 MUSIC

Strings concert featuring John Mills, Ugland Auditorium, Stowe, November 7, 8pm.

John MillsJohn Mills
John Mills

An intimate evening’s performance from John Mills accompanied by the Adderbury Ensemble and Stowe School students. John is in demand as an orchestral leader including for the John Wilson Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. John has been the leader of the highly acclaimed Tippett Quartet. The programme features Mozart’s String Quartet K465 “Hunt” and Mendelssohn’s Octet.

Details: call 01280 818012

4 MUSIC

Women in Rock, The Mill, Banbury, November 3, 7.30pm.

Women in Rock celebrates all the greats through the decades, including Pat Benatar, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Cher, Bonnie Tyler, Grace Slick, Alanis Morissette and Patti Smith as well as female-led bands like Vixen, Halestorm, Fleetwood Mac and The Pretenders. The show features powerhouse singers and a full live band.

5 THEATRE

The Accrington Pals, Sibford School, Sibford Ferris, Banbury, November 8 and 9, 7pm - 9.30pm.

Students at Sibford School will be performing The Accrington Pals as part of the school’s activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice. Written in 1982 by Peter Whelan, the play is set in Accrington during the first few years of the First World War and questions people’s morality and attitudes to war.

Unlike most other war-related pieces of theatre, The Accrington Pals not only focuses on the men fighting, but also on the women left behind and their viewpoints and struggles as they adjust to life without their fathers, husbands, brothers or sweethearts.