Musical

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT New Theatre, Oxford February 25 to March 2 Tickets: 0844 871 3020 Get ready for the ride of your life! Based on the smash-hit movie this is the heart-warming, uplifting adventure of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship and end up finding more than they ever dreamed of. With a dazzling array of outrageous costumes and a hit parade of dance-floor favorites, including It’s Raining Men, Say a Little Prayer, Go West, Hot Stuff and Always on My Mind, this fresh and funny show is a journey to the heart of fabulous. Jason Donovan, a star needing no introduction, will reprise the role of Tick, the part he played when the show originally opened in the West End. Fellow Aussie and one-time soap star Richard Grive plays Bernadette, having also previously played Tick with Graham Weaver as Felicia, as in the West End.

Theatre

SURPRISES Oxford Playhouse February 18-23, at 7.30pm, 8pm (Friday) and 2.30pm (Thurs and Sat) Tickets: 01865 305305 or oxfordplayhouse.com Alan Ayckbourn returns to Oxford with a comedy of love stories yet to happen, in a future filled with surprises. After unhappy affairs with everyone from deep-sea divers to space shuttle pilots, will lonely secretary Sylvia ever find Mr Right? A comedy with its head in the future and its heart in the past, this production delighted audiences and critics on its premiere last summer. This is Alan Ayckbourn’s 76th play – most of which have been seen at this theatre – in a career spanning 50 years. He recently became the first British playwright to receive both Olivier and Tony Special Lifetime Achievement Awards and was knighted for services to the theatre in 1997.

Music

THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Sheldonian Theatre Friday, January 25 at 7.30pm Tickets: 01865 244806 or musicatoxford.com Music at Oxford is pleased to present this magnificent orchestra at the height of its powers, complete with its thrilling conductor, Andris Nelsons, and star guest pianist Simon Trpceski. Critics marvel at Nelsons’ rapport with his orchestra, and the intimacy of the Sheldonian allows you to watch and revel in the extraordinary relationship between players and conductor. Rarely will you see and hear such precision and control. Simon Trpceski’s award-winning recording of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, one of the works being performed, has long been critically acclaimed. The audience will also hear Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 and Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila Overture.

Cabaret

ALMA SE TANGO AND RAN-CAN-CAN CUBAN SALSA BAND The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury Saturday, January 26 Tickets: 01295 279002 themillartscentre.co.uk This showcase of exciting music features singer Patrissia Cuberos, with Liz Cowdrey on violin and viola, Matthew Sullivan (the Dude) on Flamenco guitar and cajon, and Matt Watson on double bass. Patrissia says: “It started as a passion for opera in my youth: the drama, the feeling, the stories, the acting, captivated my heart, and my imagination. But somewhere, in the shadowed memories of my childhood, lurked beautiful tunes and heart- wrenching lyrics, that my eldest brother played endlessly as he mourned his young wife, prematurely taken from this world in a tragic accident. Perhaps his feelings somehow permeated my soul. I discovered Tango as a singer not long ago, after I started learning to dance it.

I have flirted with many other styles throughout my career but Tango has captured my elusive heart – and I fear it is for ever.”