Staffordshire Day – Lichfield Festival’s top tips
To celebrate Staffordshire Day on 1 May, we’ve picked out some home-grown Staffordshire artists and events to enjoy at this year’s Lichfield Festival
Lichfield’s own award-winning writer, comedian and Festival Associate Artist Katie Arnstein pictured has been described by The Guardian as “an incredible performer who seems primed for greatness”, and by her Grandad Ron as “daft as a brush”! Her brand new show Homebird is a story about where you belong – and in Katie’s case, that’s Lichfield.
A joyful band of singers, Lichfield Gospel Choir has been making captivating music in the city for fifteen years. From Nigerian lullabies to vibrant new arrangements of beloved South African songs, exhilarating Gospel numbers to Primal Scream, their energetic rhythms and rich harmonies will sweep you away.
Come and explore Lichfield’s royal connections in Royals, Regals and Robes, a walking tour of the city with Lichfield historian Jono Oates, suitably costumed, as your guide. Find out how many oxen were devoured during the visit of King Richard II in 1397 and how Charles II came to the rescue of Lichfield Cathedral after the English Civil War.
Martyn Rawles has been Organist and Assistant Director of Music at Lichfield Cathedral for the past 16 years. Here’s a chance to escape the rush and enjoy a morning concert as he demonstrates the organ’s drama, power and delicacy in music that spans Bach to Ravel, Florence Price to Paul Spicer.
Mary Queen of Scots’ final imprisonment in Staffordshire’s Tutbury Castle comes to life in a superb historical performance by Lesley Smith, the Castle’s current curator. Dressed in full Elizabethan costume, you’ll meet the tragic queen and share her hopes and fears as her dramatic tale reaches its bitter conclusion .
A fascinating series of ten paintings of Lichfield by the artist John Louis Petit (1801-1868) launches as part of Lichfield Festival. Petit expert Philip Modiano explains the significance of the ‘Lichfield Series’ which has been described in The British Art Journal as “the most remarkable series of images of any British Cathedral by an individual artist”.
And finally, several Staffordshire-based choirs are in the running for Lichfield Festival’s second Midlands Choir of the Year competition, so there’s a good chance of some Staffordshire representation in the Final at Lichfield Cathedral (finalists will announced by the end of May!).