Five of the best things to do in Banburyshire

1 COMEDY

Griff Rhys Jones – Where 
Was I?, The Theatre, Chipping Norton, January 18

Griff Rhys Jones is going back on the road this spring to explore the subject of travel. Where was I? takes as its starting point some of Griff’s personal jaunts from the last 15 years. He has sailed a boat to St Petersburg and around the Med.

He has travelled in Morocco, the Galapagos, India and Australia.

But mostly he has ventured forth to work for TV, making Greatest Cities, A Slow Train to Africa, In Search of the Black Rhino, Burma and The Forgotten Army, several series of Three Men In A Boat and programmes on mountains, rivers, lost routes and tribal art.

Rhys will look behind those “making of” snippets for the real truth about TV travel.

He has wandered from The Torres Straight Islands to Mali, from Moscow to Dar Es Salam, ridden “the train of death”, jumped from a burning boat in the Galapagos, sat with tribal elders and been ordered off their island.

He has unwillingly climbed up mountains and abseiled down waterfalls, gone window cleaning on New York skyscrapers without a safety rope and clambered through Manchester’s most demanding sewers. And all without the help of Bear Grylls!

He will be telling plenty of funny stories but also musing on the nature of travel itself – about the differences between travel and tourism.

Details: chippingnortontheatre.com

2 THEATRE

Mistero Buffo, The Mill, Banbury, January 26

Dario Fo’s one-man masterpiece gets a timely re-staging in this physical tour de- force, packing in over 100 characters and taking a hilarious and controversial view of the Bible’s best known stories.

As topical and explosive as it was when Fo first performed it, this new restaging of Mistero Buffo is a daring and timely reminder that sometimes we need to pay attention to the smallest voice and not the most powerful.

Details: themillartscentre.co.uk

3 THEATRE

Dry, The Mill, Banbury, January 22

The Wilsons may be middle class and middle aged but there is nothing middling about their alcohol intake.

Can they keep the ‘toxic’ out of ‘intoxicated’ and keep the family together, or is it a case of sorrows drowned?

A new one-hour play, commissioned by the NHS, plus post-show Q&A with guest professionals, supported by charity Turning Point.

Details: themillartscentre.co.uk

4 OPERA

The Magic Flute, Oxford Playhouse, January 11

Olivier award-winning OperaUpClose returns to the Playhouse with Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

Renowned for their English language adaptations of classic opera, OperaUpClose has created an opera that is accessible for everyone, unearthing new perspectives from which to view some of the world’s most loved stories and music.

Details: oxfordplayh-
ouse.com

5 THEATRE

Air Play, Oxford Playhouse, January 12 and 13

Physical comedy duo Acrobuffos present a modern spectacle that brings to life the very air we breathe.

Picture flying umbrellas, larger-than-life balloons, giant kites floating above, and the biggest snow globe you’ve ever seen, as circus, theatre and art combine.

Details: oxfordplayhouse.com