East Twickenham Area Guide

Celebrate spring in style at Richmond MayFest this early May Bank Holiday weekend with three days of historical and traditional music, dancing and family fun. There's a MayFair at Richmond Castle, the Busking Day, the MiniFolkFest at the Town Hall, the MayFest Ceilidh, medieval music in concert, the MayFest PlayFest... so much happening in and around Richmond Town Centre. Many events are free! with special offers for local residents (DL9, DL10 and DL11 postcodes)

Discover more about JMW Turner’s works on animals with our online lectures! 15 May- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them….In Turner’s Work – Nicola Moorby, Curator of ‘Turner’s Kingdom: Beauty, Birds and Beasts’ – 6.30 – 7.30pm We don’t immediately think of J.M.W. Turner as an animal painter of animals, but they regularly feature as elements within his landscapes. As an introduction to the 2025 exhibition at Turner’s House this lecture explores the intriguing appearance of birds and beasts within his paintings, revealing their narrative, symbolic or decorative function. We will also meet the creatures known to be part of Turner’s household at various points in his biography and examine what they reveal to us about the man himself – his family, friends, personality and private life. 3 July – Farnley, Fawkes, and Feathers: J. M. W. Turner’s Illustrations for an Ornithological Collection – Lucy Bailey 6.30-7.30pm This talk will consider the friendship between Turner and his patron, Walter Fawkes (1769-1825), in particular focusing on the background to Fawkes’s Ornithological Collection. MP, and landowner, Fawkes lived at Farnley Hall in Wharfedale, Yorkshire. From around 1809, the family and other members of the estate’s community began collecting feathers and specimens of birds, arranging them in albums according to the order in Thomas Bewick’s History of Birds (1797). Chief amongst the artists who provided illustrations for the project was Turner who painted twenty watercolours of birds. Rarely studied in the artist’s oeuvre, these bird portraits will be considered within the context of the cultural hub nurtured by Fawkes at Farnley, and the important role played by country houses in fostering the development of scientific investigation. 11 September – Turner and the Avian – Professor Leo Costello, Chair and Associate Professor of Art History, Rice University, Texas 6.30 – 7.30pm This talk will consider the long and, not surprisingly, complex engagement with birds throughout Turner’s career. It will look in depth at Turner’s numerous watercolours of individual birds from the extraordinary “Farnley Book of Birds” featured in the exhibition at Turner’s House, and consider these in relation to current discourses of hunting, ornithology and natural philosophy. But the talk will also catalogue the many different thematic and formal roles that birds played in paintings and watercolours of many subjects throughout his career. In particular, it will assess the potential ecological and environmental implications of Turner’s avian engagements, and ask what we might learn from them today. Cannot make it on the day of the lecture? We will record the events and make these available for ticket-holders ONLY. Cannot make it on the day of the lecture? We will record the events and make these available for ticket-holders ONLY.

Don’t miss a hugely entertaining access-all-areas conversation with former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner, star of Netflix’s smash hit docuseries Drive to Survive. Reflecting on his decade in charge of Haas, Guenther will offer an unobstructed view of what really takes place behind the scenes. Through this unique lens, Guenther takes us on the thrilling rollercoaster of life at the heart of elite motor racing. This is the first time Guenther will be telling his story to a public audience from the stage. This is not an event any fan of Formula 1 can afford to miss.

Get ready for an electrifying night of blues as the Terraplanes Blues Band, winners of the UK Blues Awards Emerging Act of the Year 2023, take the stage at the Crawdaddy Club on May 9th at the Winchester Room. Hailing from Bristol, this dynamic quartet has been making waves across the UK blues scene with their authentic 50s and 60s-inspired rhythm and blues. Fronted by guitarist and vocalist Nick Scrase, whose soulful tones capture the essence of classic blues, and harmonica virtuoso Eduardo Allen, known for his high-energy performances, the Terraplanes deliver a show that's both raw and captivating. The rhythm section, featuring Andy Hutt on drums and Craig Shaw on bass, lays down grooves that are impossible to resist. Their debut EP, Midnight Train, released in 2020, introduced audiences to their distinctive sound, blending British R&B with Louisiana and New Orleans influences. Following up with their acclaimed album Stepping Stones in 2022, the band solidified their place in the blues community, earning praise for their authentic and energetic performances. In 2024, the Terraplanes continued their ascent, performing at renowned venues and festivals, including a standout headline slot at the Upton Blues Festival and a memorable appearance at the Callander Jazz & Blues Festival in Scotland. Their relentless touring schedule and dedication to their craft have garnered them a loyal following and critical acclaim. Dont miss this opportunity to experience one of the UK's most exciting blues acts in an intimate setting. Tickets are £12 in advance'secure yours now for a night of soulful, hard-hitting rhythm and blues that will leave you wanting more. The Terraplanes are a band at the very heart of the British blues scene! Blues In Britain Magazine These boys are phenomenal, a joy to watch! Blues Matters Magazine Raw and authentic. Blues in Britain

Having reassessed her life through the prism of an ADHD diagnosis in last year's funny and moving memoir, one of Britain's most beloved and most scatterbrained stand-ups lets you back into her mind (warning: it's cluttered in there). Among other things, this show will be a love-letter to letter-writing, a trip back through her early years as a comic and woman-about-town, and a whirlwind tour of a chaotic, hilarious brain. “She has plenty to say, and says it with pointedness and potency” Guardian “I laughed all the way through and left inspired” Funny Women

Directed by Stockard Channing with David Westhead as "Krapp". Revel in Samuel Beckett's classic play, as audiences are invited into Krapp's world of solitude, memories, dreams, elation, and despair. Brought to life in disused function rooms, underground vaults, former jails, and dusty factories, we are transported to a land of joy, sadness, lost ambition, love, madness, and hope. This production, directed by Academy Award nominee Stockard Channing and starring David Westhead, tours globally throughout 2025.