Devizes Arts Festival Rules, OK?!

Alas, it’s been a long week since the Devizes Arts Festival called time. It feels a little like when my Dad would take the Christmas decorations down; sure, the lava lamp and toilet roll dolly remained but somehow the rest of the house looked bare and sparse!

Another great year for the annual festival which again saw Devizes sprinkled with a variety of events and the coming, and going of talented outsiders. There’s a feedback form the committee would care for you to helpfully fill, HERE, meanwhile I will reflect on the festival as a whole, after some great reports from myself and our esteemed writers, of which you can click on the titles of to read the full review; awesome what we can do nowadays, isn’t it?!

Far more organised than previous years, at least, we drew a rota we rarely referred back to! I led our team out to battle by covering the opening Friday night’s pirate shenanigans, and topped it off with Saturday’s arrival of Lady Nade, undoubtedly my favourite. Thereafter our roving reporter of insurmountable knowledge and something apparently called basic grammar, Andy Fawthrop would pip me to the post with a non-stop barrage of reviews. He was steadfast at the venues, I was wavering, and Ian, well, Ian was a Slambovian Circus of Dreams. After a gate technical blunder it was great to also have the one and only John Winterton of the Wharf Theatre contribute his professional thoughts on one wharfside gig.

Thanks to everyone for the teamwork. If Andy won on quantity, I excuse myself by reminding people I’ve work commitments while most are tucked up in bed snoring the theme tune to CHIPS. I could argue if there was one negative piece of feedback, it would be that more events at the festival could be organised over weekends, extending the festival perhaps, but rewarding the organisers a well-earned midweek break. Yet, Devizes Arts Festival is not to blame for the extremist early hours of my real labour, so I guess this is a self-inflicted matter; if only I was a popstar instead!

The only other niggly I suspect will come up through feedback is price, it is a sign of the times I’m afraid. A mountain of work and money goes into this and any other event, something I think people take a smidgen for granted. We’ve seen the demise of events and venues alike over the last few years, and it comes down to undercutting themselves at their box office. It’s such a shame, and all we can really do is convince people what is worthy of your hard-earned cash, and what is not. Despite a massively erroneous preconception Devizes Arts Festival is akin to a Saga holiday in some form or fashion, I can assure you it is most definitely not, it is a very worthy event, and needs you younglings to support it. Ticket sales this year varied between events, some sold out unexpectedly, others which the committee assumed would be winners suffered slightly; it is not an exact science, this is why your feedback is crucial.

Don’t forget the festival also hosts many free fringe events across town during the period. These are always well attended, hence surmising a fair ticket price is always a benefit to any event. At all fringe events I pause for thought like a vicar on Radio 2, to acknowledge these free gigs is to only partially immerse yourself in Devizes Arts Festival, and you should consider if you enjoyed them, how much more amazing the paid events are, and treat yourself accordingly.

Friday 31st May the shebang pounded off the starting block in a lively punk-pirate fashion. Of Jolly Roger I said it was, “loud and sprightly unpretentious punkish tomfoolery with a pirate theme, yet, at times there was concentrated and thought-provoking narratives in their original material too. Euphoric tunes such as the most poignant Silent Mountain temporarily broke the frenzy, whereas characters like a bloke who props up the bar, conveyed this is a three sheets to the wind partying band to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but, dressed as pirates kinda gave that game away!” among other things. It was a fiery marine-themed start to the landlocked festival.

Yet I was holding out all expectations for Saturday with Lady Nade, and it did not disappoint. It was my personal favourite and what a way to begin June. I deemed it mesmerising, hailing it, “a breath-taking performance, only Nina Simone between Simon & Garfunkel could’ve equalised.”  

The first Sunday there was a festival walk; none of our writers seemed to take the walks up; maybe I should buy them some stout boots, Thermos, and pack them a cheese & pickle sandwich?! Neither Adam Alexander’s Seed Detective that day, nor Eddy Allen’s Solo Loop Show get coverage from us, for which I apologise. But Andy clocked in on Monday, reviewing Dr. Phil Hammond’s ‘How to Fix the NHS.’ which he called “a cracking night’s entertainment – informative, interesting, and absolutely hilarious.” Personally, and without getting too political, I had my own interpretation for a start to fixing the NHS, and that’s to stop voting in self-serving thieving clowns.

But, I digress, because once Andy gets in gear there’s no stopping him. Tuesday he covered its first classical offering The Edward Cross Quintet, a Wiltshire based multi‐instrumentalist with a background in composition and production, “overall,” Andy stated, it was “technically enjoyable, but emotionally not very engaging.” Well, I do ask our reviewers to provide an honest opinion, even if I’m a suck-up! 

Liz Grand’s Mrs Churchill we missed on Tuesday, Mike Dilger’s One Thousand Shades of Green as well. Unfortunately we can’t be everywhere, but we try.

Likely the most interesting reviews was from the Wednesday of the first week when baffling geneticist, author and broadcaster Adam Rutherford came to town. Here’s where Andy shines, as it would have been too intellectual for me to cast such a detailed review on. “Informative and absolutely fascinating,” Andy called it. “Adam is no comedian, but he does have a light touch, and just like on the radio, he was able to bring science very much to life, to engage his audience, and to leave everyone a little richer in understanding.”

Hollie McNish’s Lobster Tour sold out, but we didn’t manage to catch this one either. Andy covered probably the widest known name, comedian Lucy Porter on Thursday. I really wanted to do this one, but hey I think Andy deserved a treat. “It was for the most part, very clean and straight-forward stuff. There was nothing that could be considered “edgy”, there was nothing political, and there was (amazingly) no swearing,” said Andy of it; boring!! “As such, it probably kept most of the audience in their comfort zone for most of the time, but it was no less hilarious for all of that.”

Jo Carley and the Old Dry Skulls was missed on the Friday, I did put my gumboots back on for The Cable Street Collective on the Saturday. This was awesome. “From the off I’m reminded of the marabi sound of Hugh Masekela,” I suggested, “with the upfront brass of trumpet and saxophone. Yet you couldn’t pigeonhole this with a thousand words, it’s wholly unique. Female fronted by an energetic yogi, she somersaults the high stage projecting a mid-tone vocal range with unrivalled passion, encouraging her audience to follow the leader,” and they did. Cable Street had the Exchange up dancing.

The end of the first week saw another Festival Walk and a free fringe event in the trusty Three Crowns, Rumour, the latter I did manage! “Americana trio Rumour from the Black Country, pitched up in the yard with a breezy underlying familiarity to their sound. As the name suggests, covers were Fleetwood Mac top-heavy but delivered beautifully amidst a few other classics and some blended original material. Couldn’t fault them if I tried.” Annie Parker Trio was also a fringe event, but I went home for tea and bed.

Midweek marvel, Andy was back on the scene Monday 10th June, with classical pianist Ida Pellicciolo. “The whole performance was both intense and mesmerising, played and presented by a world-class pianist who was clearly absolutely dedicated to her work, and completely on top of her game.  Entirely justifiably there was sustained applause at the end from a very appreciative audience, provoking not one, but two, short encores, the latter of which was an “impromptu” by the more modern Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865 – 1957).”

Again on Tuesday, Andy was on it. Belinda Kirk’s The Life-Changing Power of Adventure this time, which although “much against my will,” Andy said “I was actually on the edge of my seat listening to this stuff.  And I wasn’t alone either – the rest of the packed audience seemed pretty enraptured too.  She’s an enthusiastic, energetic and very articulate speaker.” So, wellbeing tips, ask Andy, I’d only recommend a sausage sandwich.

Due to a misunderstanding, when Ian Diddams arrived on the scene to cover Discovering Antarctica : Heroic tales of Shackleton, Crean and Scott at the Wharf Theatre it wasn’t to be, and so John Winterton stepped in his shoes. “An evening well spent and testament to the hard work obviously put into the research put into the script and the characterisation of Tom, by Aidan.”  Kate Webb and Jon Stock’s The Darker Side of Wiltshire we missed.

“Martin Simpson is, in the contemporary folk world at least, the equivalent of Royalty, or a National Treasure,” Andy said, when he came to Devizes on Wednesday, and our man on the scene summed it, in a word, as a “masterclass.”

Andy gave us his opinion on A Lunchtime Amuse-Bouche, with Duo Tutti on Thursday, and The Sound of Blue Note too, which he hailed “a bunch of guys who were clearly very comfortable with their material, with their arrangements, and with playing in each other’s company.  They sounded absolutely great, tight when they needed to be, but with that wonderful ability to fall back and give space to the many solos and improvisations,” and requested more jazz for Devizes.

Finally they thought better of it and let Ian in! The Slambovian Circus of Dreams on Friday was something I really should have attended judging by the look of it alone. “Hillbilly Pink Floyd” Ian called it, but expanded “touches on some aspects of their music, but it’s a far wider demographic than simply that. Certainly, their show at the Corn Exchange last night included elements that certainly sounded very Pink Floyd, but psychedelia, prog, Dylan, Seeger, Tull, Led Zep all played their part weaving into and out of their songs.”

No one was tempted by Huw Williams’ Organ Recital at St John’s Church, or the The Poetry Slam at the Wharf which polished off the festivities. Saturday night’s hypnotist Matt Hale was unfortunately cancelled, to which remained a marvellous afternoon in the British Lion with skiffle band The Junco Shakers. I was content, it was one of those fringe events which simply worked.

Overall, it’s been a great year for Devizes Arts Festival, with some world class acts and much enjoyment was had by all. Though as far as I know, Devizes has never had a hypnotist, and for all its uniqueness I’d have thought this gig would be a sell-out. It is unfortunate, due to low ticket sales it was pulled. It proves perhaps an error in judgement, or could imply more advertising would have helped, I really don’t know; I was looking forward to it. Again, all I can say is we need to support arts in town, and Devizes Arts Festival is the king of this. We look forward to another year of which I urge to get onboard for; the thought of losing this gem on our calendar as we’ve lost others would be too much to bear. 

Thanks to our wonderful team for their valid input, especially our part of the furniture, Andy Fawthrop, who summed it up thus, “Another excellent festival in my opinion – well organised and publicised. The range and variety of events, and the many different venues, together with the Free Fringe, made this another good year. Thanks all those involved for all the hard work you put in to achieve this. Hats off!”

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