The Jaramago's Blues Band comes to Jimena

JIMENA You will probably think this is a blues band - and you'd be right, in part. In fact, Marcus von Wachtel's magnificent venue, El Corral de la Paca, at Calle Ancha, is holding what he's calling a 'family spectacular' that features The Jaramago's Blues Band, which may or may not be a blues band at all. You'll just have to find out! Starting each evening at 10.30pm on Friday 5 and Saturday 6, tickets are la voluntad, which is loosely translated to 'as you wish'.

Madam Darina meets Henrietta

New show called ImpulS.O.S.

JIMENA Madam Darina is cabaret, theatre, humour, circus, performance, improvisation - and a whole lotta fun! She, it, whatever, is coming to Jimena, to Casa Henrietta this Friday, starting at 10pm, for a great evening's entertainment with her ImpulS.O.S. show. Entrance is free but you have to buy your own drinkie-poohs. We may be there, but we'd love to hear your comments about it anyway!

Dr Seuss, the Seussical, in San Roque

SAN ROQUE On March 22nd and 23rd (today and tomorrow!) Sotogrande International School's well established arts department presents Seussical! Seussical is based on the works of the popular children's writer Dr. Seuss. He is best known for books like The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! These stories include wondrous characters, creatures and places such as Mayzie la Bird, Horton the Elephant and the Jungle of Nool! Through jazzy and upbeat music and Broadway style dancing the cast will teach the audience about not giving up and believing in the power of imagination!

Students in this production range from twelve to seventeen years old and are excited about sharing their talent with the San Roque community. Sotogrande International School finds it very important to connect with the community and we hope that with this musical full of dancing, singing and spectacle we can share our love of the arts! The performances will take place at 7:30pm and the tickets are free. We will be asking for small donations for the schools NGO, The Kindred Project, which supports communities in Asni, Morocco, Uganda and Goa.

Spanish classic theatre coming up in Jimena

The local theatre group, Alba Teatro, is presenting La casa de Bernarda Alba (The House of Bernarda Alba), a play the famous dramatist Federico García Lorca on Thursday, December 8 at the Reina Sofía Cultural Centre in Estación de Jimena, at 7pm. Commentators have often grouped it with Blood Wedding Yerma as a "rural trilogy". Lorca did not include it in his plan for a "trilogy of the Spanish earth" (which remained unfinished at the time of his murder)in Granada. Lorca described the play in its subtitle as a drama of women in the villages of SpainThe House of Bernarda Alba was Lorca's last play, completed on 19 June 1936, two months before the author's murder by the Nationalists (fascists) during the Spanish Civil War. The play was first performed in 1945. The play centers on the events of a house in Andalusia during a period of mourning, in which Bernarda Alba (aged 60) wields total control over her five daughters Angustias (39 years old), Magdalena (30), Amelia (27), Martirio, (24), and Adela (20). The housekeeper (La Poncia) and Bernarda's elderly mother (María Josefa) also live there. The deliberate exclusion of any male character from the action helps build up the high level of sexual tension that is present throughout the play. Pepe "el Romano", the love interest of Bernarda's daughters and suitor of Angustias, never appears on stage. The play explores themes of repression, passion, and conformity, and inspects the effects of men upon women. (Source:Wikipedia)

Agatha Christie as English language teacher

LA LINEA - It turns out that Agatha Christie's play 'A Time for Murder' was presented at morning and evening sesions at the convention centre last week. The play came about as part of the municipality's educational programme, so audiences consisted principally of students of English from secondary schools in Algeciras, as well as those from the Escuela de Idiomas in San Roque, younger tudents from San Martín del Tesorillo, and adult education courses fom the area. The play was presented by the Recursos Educativos theatre group and attended by over 600 students. (Prospero note: We had no notice of this event, and can only wonder if there may have been any sign of embarrassment as to the level of English of this presentation, pronunciation, or lack thereof, being one of the many bees in our bonnet about the teaching of English in Spain as a whole.)