Your weekly what’s on guide for Bedford and the surrounding area from The Bedford Clanger.
Never miss a thing in Bedford ever again. From theatre to film, live music to art exhibitions, The Bedford Clanger what’s on guide lands every Thursday and is the only guide you need to know what’s on and what’s happening across the Borough for the next 10 days.
From 11 March 2023
Exhibition: Edward Bawden – Planes, Trains and Automobiles
The Higgins Bedford @ Tues – Sat: 11am – 5pm/Sun: 2pm – 5pm/Closed Mondays
Free entry
Let Edward Bawden transport you in this exhibition celebrating all things travel.
Drawn exclusively from the Higgins Bedford’s Edward Bawden archive, see large linocuts of London’s iconic stations and an array of wonderful vehicles from hot air balloons to jumbo jets and tall ships to cruise liners.
Read: New Edward Bawden ‘trains, planes and automobiles’ exhibition to open this weekend
Until 3 March 2024.
Thursday 16 March 2023
Thursday 16 March 2023, 7.45pm
Bunyan Meeting, Mill Street @ 7.45pm
Tickets: Adult £18, Student (full time, 18-25) £5, Young person (under 18) £3
Season discounts on application
The Alkyona Quartet present fresh, imaginative interpretations of both classic and hidden gems of the string quartet repertoire. They are well known for their warm connection to audiences and vivacious performances. This concert includes works by Caroline Shaw, Brahms and Janáček’s ‘Intimate Letters’ quartet, the intense outpourings of an old man for his young lover.
Theatre/Science: Eugene
The Quarry Theatre @ 7.30pm
Tickets: from £12
In the not-too-distant future, millionaire and inventor (think Elon Musk with a further attitude problem) ‘Hugh’ from Hu-Bris industries is launching the first superhuman artificial intelligence at a press conference. And you’re invited.
‘Eugene’ is a show about what happens when we give technology the power over us, with an anthropomorphic power point. Think The Terminator does a Ted Talk with Steve Jobs.
A comedy theatre show with integrated captioning via The Difference Engine, delivering part of the story through your smart device and meaning that every performance is accessible to deaf/hard of hearing people.
Programmed as part of British Science Week
Friday 17 March 2023
Live Music: Mat Roberts
The Cellar Bar @ 8.30pm
Free Entry
Mat Roberts returns to The Cellar Bar for a solo performance of classic covers and party songs.
Saturday 18 March 2023
Comedy: Zoe Lyons: Bald Ambition Tour
The Quarry Theatre @ 7.30pm
Tickets: £16
Zoe Lyons has kept herself busy in the last couple of years by having what can best be described as a monumental midlife crisis.
Read our interview with her here.
It involved buying a sports car, having a brief marital separation and running a 100k ultra marathon which really didn’t end well. Along the way her hair decided the best thing to do was abandon ship. It ain’t easy being a middle-aged woman: try doing it with a combover.
Thankfully Zoe has been able to explore the funny side of all these twists and turns.
It’s time to sell the silly car and try and put the wheels back on her life.
Saturday 18 March 2023
Live music: Who’s Next?
Bedford Esquires @ 7.30pm
Tickets: £12
Saturday 18 March 2023
Live Music: Last Laugh Lane
The Cellar Bar @ 8.30pm
Free Entry
Last Laugh Lane make their debut at The Cellar Bar.
Classic throwback indie anthems of the 2000’s including The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Kings of Leon and much more.
Saturday 18 March 2023
Dance music: Hold Down Boss Reggae Club
Dom Polski @ 7pm
Tickets: £6
Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 March 2023
Food & drink: Mixology Masterclass
The Cellar Bar @ 3.00pm
£30 per person
The Cellar Bar’s resident mixologist Marley will explain how to create some outstanding cocktails for your tasting enjoyment. Then, it’s your turn to put what you’ve learned into practice by making (and drinking) three cocktails.
Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 3pm to 5pm. Book online at thecellarbarbedford.co.uk.
Monday 20 March 2023
Film: Bedford Film Society presents – The Courier
Main Theatre, University of Bedfordshire, Polhilll Avenue @ 7.30pm
Tickets: Special offer half-season membership £35/day membership £5/free parking
The true story of a British businessman unwittingly recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history.
Forming an unlikely partnership with a Soviet officer hoping to prevent a nuclear confrontation, the two men work together to provide the crucial intelligence used to defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Tuesday 21 March 2023
Live music: Tuesday lunchtime concert
St Paul’s church, St Paul’s Square @ 1pm
Free entry with retiring collection (suggested donation £5)
Featuring a piano recital from Simeon Walker.
Wednesday 22 March 2023
Film: Cinema @ 3 St Peter’s presents – To Kill A Mockingbird
3 St Peter’s Street @ 7pm
Tickets: £12/£10.50/£9/£6
Set in 1930s Alabama, Scout Finch (Mary Badham), six, and her older brother, Jem (Phillip Alford), live in sleepy Maycomb, spending much of their time with their friend Dill (John Megna) and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley (Robert Duvall).
When Atticus (Gregory Peck), their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.
Thursday 23 March 2023
Quiz Night: The Cellar Bar weekly quiz
The Cellar Bar @ 8.00pm
£2 per person entry
Pit your wits against the Cellar Bar’s resident Quiz Master to see if you can win the jackpot. £2 per person entry and a maximum of 6 per team.
The winning team takes the jackpot plus a round of shots!
Friday 24 March 2023
Illustrated talk: The English Country House in the 21st Century
The Chapter House, St Peter’s Church @ 7.30pm
Free entry to members of the Historical Association/non-members welcome (suggested donation minimum donation £3)
The ‘English Country House in the 21st Century‘ is the subject of an illustrated talk by Professor Peter Mandler, national President of the Historical Association (HA) and Professor of Modern Cultural History at Cambridge. Profession Mandler will concentrate on how country houses survive (and thrive) today, in political and economic terms.
In 1997 Peter wrote ‘The Fall and Rise of the Stately Home’ which he ended in the 1990s and so this lecture will update the story to the 2020s.
England is known worldwide for its stunning stately homes. The lecture should appeal to anyone interested in these Country Houses and their role in the England of the last 150 years of our history.
Friday 24 March 2023
Comedy: The Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz
The Quarry Theatre @7.30pm
Tickets: £16
Fancy five free drinks? Two of the world’s leading alcohol experts return with a hilarious quiz show that gets the rounds in – in more ways than one.
With a pen and question sheet in one hand and several world-class drinks in the other, join them on a uniquely absurd, fact-filled journey through time. You will learn and laugh a lot as the answers to life’s most important and unusual questions appear at the bottom of your glass. And did we mention the five free discerning drinks?
Friday 24 March 2023
Live music: Whitney – Queen of the Night
Bedford Corn Exchange @
Tickets: £24
Direct from The West End, Whitney – Queen Of The Night celebrates the music and life of one of the greatest singers of our time with a sensational cast and stunning live band.
The show takes audiences on a magical rollercoaster ride through three decades of nostalgic hits that include: “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, “One Moment In Time”, “I’m Every Woman”, “I Will Always Love You”, “My Love Is Your Love”, “So Emotional Baby”, “Run to You”, “Saving All My Love”, “How Will I Know”, “Million Dollar Bill”, “The Greatest Love Of All”, and many more.
Friday 24 March 2023
Live Music: Danny Barton
The Cellar Bar @ 8.30pm
Free Entry
Bedford’s own Danny Barton performs at The Cellar Bar, playing a mix of acoustic favourites and new material.
Friday 24 March 2023
Live music: Out of Love + Bruises + Club Dread
Bedford Esquires @ 8pm
Tickets: £4
Castlefest UK presents Out of Love at Bedford Esquires, with support from Bruises and Club Dread.
Saturday 25 March 2023
Children’s Theatre: Rapunzel and the Tower of Doom
The Quarry Theatre @ 11am & 1.30pm
Tickets: from £10.50
Tangles? Split Ends? Frizzy? Flyaway? It’s bad enough having a bad hair day but pity poor Rapunzel spending her life in a tower with some strange woman using her captive’s locks as a step ladder! What sort of damage is that going to do to your hair?
Theatre of Widdershins have taken this traditional tale right back to its roots, teased out the tangles and styled it into a beautifully coiffured hair piece! This enchanting show promises plenty of body, volume and loads of highlights. Make an appointment to see the show – because you’re worth it!
Saturday 25 March 2023
Live music: Collision Day Fest
Bedford Esquires @ 11am – 11pm
Tickets: £20
Castlefest Uk, Anti-Mind and Black Orange Music are hitting up Bedford Esquires with Collision Day Fest, taking over the venue for the whole day with two stages, 20 bands and some amazing collabs.
There will be food, there will be merch and there will be Forever Loud onsite as official media partner for the event with live interviews.
Saturday 25 March 2023
Classical music: Bedford Choral Society present Haydn’s The Seasons
Bedford Corn Exchange @
Tickets: £16 & £13/Students £6
This iconic secular oratorio, accompanied by Bedford Sinfonia, is the first time Bedford Choral Society has performed Haydn’s ‘The Seasons’ in its entirety during its 156-year history.
Soloists soprano, Rachel Nicholls, tenor, Philip Salmon and bass, Andrew Slater.
Saturday 25 March 2023
Live Music: Kaleidos
The Cellar Bar @ 8.30pm
Free Entry
With members from different musical backgrounds, Kaleidos’ musical influences are from soul, pop, R&B, jazz, hip hop and funk.
Expect a night of funky and soulful popular songs.
Sunday 26 March 2023
Gaming: RPG Youth Club
The Place Theatre @ 10am
Tickets: £4
Aged 10-18?
Love games, fantasy, stories and play? Want to be the hero (or villain) you’ve always imagined? Want to meet people who share your interests?
A great opportunity for young people to engage in creative problem-solving in a fun, welcoming, supervised space. Great for developing speaking and listening skills, team building and developing storytelling and creativity, Dungeons & Dragons, and other Table Top Role Playing Games (TTRPGs) are a great alternative to videogames, challenging young people to work together, teaching English and Maths skills, and helping young people socialise with like-minded young
people.
Sunday 26 March 2023
River: Annual River Blessing
Riverside Square (near Wagamama) @ 11.20am
The annual blessing of the River Great Ouse will take place this month to highlight the importance of caring for our local environment and to celebrate the beautiful river running through the heart of the town.
The public event will be held on Sunday 26 March at 11.20am and will be led by Canon Keven Goss, Vicar of St Paul’s in collaboration with Assistant Curate Fr. Luke Larner, a member of Bedford’s Viking Kayak Club.
Sunday 26 March 2023
Family fun: Sunday Crafternoons
The Higgins Bedford @ 2pm – 4pm (drop in, no booking necessary)
Free entry
Join in monthly creative activities for families to enjoy together. Explore the amazing art and fascinating artefacts on display around the building, then use your imagination and a range of media and materials to get arty.
Until 25 March 2023
History and heritage: John Bunyan Exhibition
Panacea Museum @ 10am – 4pm Thursday – Saturday
Free entry www.panaceamuseum.org/events
Temporary exhibition at the Panacea Museum including pieces from the John Bunyan Museum collection.
Until 31 March 2023
International Women’s Day: Art and photography exhibition
Herd, St Cuthbert’s Street (check opening times on their Facebook page)
Free entry
To mark International Women’s Day, Herd on St Cuthberts Street has invited local female artists and photographers to display their work within the restaurant throughout the month.
One month left to see…
Art and culture: Changing Times: A century of modern British art
The Higgins Bedford
Free entry
Some of the most well-loved British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries feature in an exhibition at the Higgins Bedford on Castle Lane until 16 April 2023.
From Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden and Paul Nash to Elisabeth Frink, David Hockney and Lucian Freud, the exhibition brings together some of the biggest names in British art, and explores its history since the 20th century.
Changing Times: A Century of Modern British Art is the first large-scale exhibition since the post-pandemic reopening of The Higgins Bedford. Don’t miss your chance to see it!
Read more: David Hockney and Lucian Freud shine in new Higgins autumn exhibition
Theatre highlights by Paula Walker
