by Lewis MacLean. It’s amazing how many people you can crowd into the Art House on a Saturday night and yet still find room for the people who wander in, drawn from the streets out of curiosity, more to the point on 1st April! (I pity the April Fool...
April Under the Covers: World Book Night and more
by Carolyn Thomas. This month In Common books editor Carolyn Thomas celebrates World Book Night. It’s World Book Night on 23 April – an annual celebration of reading for pleasure, honouring books, and the difference they make to our wellbeing. Organised by The Reading Agency, a national charity...
In celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility
Today is Transgender Day of Visibility. Here, two transgender women, Nic Beck and Mabel Wellman, share why the day is so important. by Nic Beck. Today (March 31) is Transgender Day of Visibility, a day where we celebrate all people who identify under the trans umbrella. A day...
Interview: Brendan Murphy on bringing Spike & co to the stage in Buffy ReVamped
by Katie Isham. This Friday night, as the sun sets, a peroxide blonde in a sweeping leather duster will take to the stage at MAST Southampton. Brendan Murphy is the living embodiment of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In his new show, Buffy ReVamped, he takes the audience...
Kevin to juggle his way around Southampton marathon in aid of Communicare
Kevin Sawers from Hedge End will be juggling his way around the 5k in the ABP Southampton Marathon in aid of a charity that helps eradicate loneliness this weekend. The 45-year-old decided to set himself the challenge of juggling and running the race in aid of Communicare, which helps...
View from the Kingsland: The Strange Season Continues
by Nick Mabey. It’s the beginning of April and we still have a quarter of the league season to go. Thanks to the World Cup every team has at least ten games to play and some as many as 13, when normally it would be five or six. Normally...
Roller derby – Southampton City Rollers vs Brighton Rockerbillies, Haywards Heath, March 25
by Joy McKay. Roller derby had a riotous return when our own Southampton City Rollers took on the Brighton Rockerbillies at a sold out game in Haywards Heath at the weekend. In their new uniforms, debuted at the weekend, they looked like a true team ready to have a great...
Review: The Commitments – The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 27th March 2023
by Peter Nicholson. It certainly doesn’t seem like over 30 years since I saw the film, but knowing that the stage show was coming to Southampton meant that I was looking forward to recapturing my enjoyment of 1991 movie. I’d not seen the stage show when it enjoyed huge...
Marathon Fundraiser for Blue Apple Theatre
A former volunteer at Hampshire charity Blue Apple is running the London Marathon to help people with learning disabilities take part in performing arts activities which increase their confidence and reduce their isolation. Seb Longman volunteered at Blue Apple Theatre during their production of The Tempest in 2019. Deeply...
Review: Suede, O2 Guildhall Southampton, March 24
words and photos: Anita Foxall. Suede released their new album Autofiction In September 2022 and they are now touring to promote it. The Southampton Guildhall received them last night, and they were as magnificent has they have always been. Dublin-based Sprints opened the night, and their garage punk sound was...