Forget winter with an old-school musical Rom Com and a free Martini!

Kino-Teatr goes from La La Land to Wowtown

“It’s January, it’s miserable and I’ve got that irritating song by ’70s band Pilot going around my head… and then I picked up the Kino-Teatr January programme and got strangely fond of the month…” HOT’s Erica Smith raises a Martini to the diverse entertainment available in one Norman Road establishment.

Bear with me, there’s a lot to get through in this article, and I’m going to put it into context first… One of my favourite events of 2016 was Weird Shit at Borough Wines, but even better than that is its slightly more sophisticated sister event at Kino-Teatr – Sheared Wit. There are not many venues that combine David Quantick, a stuffed tiger with a rotating head and tail and a Brion Gysin inspired Dream Machine. The December Sheared Wit made me resolve to go back to the Kino-Teatr more in 2017… and I’ve  already missed some amazing things this month! This article is to make sure you and I don’t miss any of the other gems on the horizon.

I’m not so bothered about the Harry Potter film, but I’m kicking myself that I missed Laetitial Yhap’s recommendation The Curious World of Hieronymous Bosch – released last autumn. Laetitia realised that it wasn’t being screened anywhere in the area, mentioned it to Russell Baker and lo, he programmed it in for a busy one-off screening. I’ve missed a Roger Hubbard gig too, but let’s stop regretting and look forward…

Julian Sands in John Malkovich’s play about Harold Pinter – in St Leonards, honest!

I’ve still got a chance to see Oliver Stone’s film I, Edward Snowden, and A United Kingdom – a film about a law-defying inter-racial marriage in apartheid South Africa. Then this Friday and Sunday, there’s the opportunity to see Julian Sands in a ‘Homeric play’ about Harold Pinter directed by no-one other than John Malkovich!!! Here’s some explanation… in 2005, Julian Sands was approached by the Nobel Prize winning playwright and poet, Harold Pinter, to prepare a selection of his poems for a special presentation in London. Pinter “apprenticed” Mr. Sands, spending hours sharing his feelings on how his work should be delivered. Every pause, every nuance in tone, had – and has – meaning. A bond was established between these two artists, one that gives a distinctive and very personal voice to Pinter’s words. This extraordinary collaboration became the foundation for a fascinating solo show.

This Saturday evening is an event close to my heart: JDWC marks the ten year anniversary since Hastings resident and artist Jon Cole died in Cambodia. The evening will celebrate Jon’s life, his work as a painter and the inspiration that he gave so many people from simply being the person that he was. There will be a launch of the JDWC website, a film of Jon whilst working at the old Claremont studio and other unseen footage plus some short films that he made. Jon Cole was a remarkable soul. He had a punk rock energy and threw himself into projects with full force. When the Observer Building was threatened with demolition 12 years ago, it was Jon who scaled it to hang a banner from the edifice. He was also a remarkable artist.

Angela Barnes at Wendy May‘s comedy club

Next week there’s a fabulous film about Russian avant-garde artists AND Wendy May’s new comedy night, featuring Angela Barnes and Danny Ward. Plus, the Kino-Teatr has risked showing a newly released film for a whole week. Since La La Land has received such praise at the Golden Globes this week, it looks like it was a risk worth taking. January is the perfect month for an old-school romantic musical, and Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s performances in Damien Chazelle’s beguiling movie will make you go all fuzzy inside. PLUS, the ticket price includes a FREE MARTINI – and if you can organise a block-booking of 10, you get a FREE BOTTLE OF PROSECCO to share, too!

Are you exhausted yet? I am – but Kino-Teatr January goes on and on… Friday 27 gives another opportunity to experience the weird world of Thomas Truax. I’m proud to have been responsible for Thomas’ first gig in Hastings around the time that Jon Cole was scaling the Observer Building. Thomas’s dark and crazy music plus his steam-punk style automatic instruments are things of wonder. This is the last event of the Trash Cannes Festival. Do not miss the opportunity to experience Wowtown’s most famous resident.

And just for a change on Saturday 28… The Edge of Winter is a special event which combines contemporary and classical elements, in a celebration of music, performance, film and couture inspired by winter. Mozart opera scenes, piano solos and acapella singing, with performances by, among others, soprano Chiara Vinci and tenor John Twitchen. The spectacle also includes costumes by local fashionista Freya von Bulow, ‘Winter Pastoral’ by Ukrainian composer Julia Gomelskaya (verses by Pasternak), Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’, extraordinary footage of Scott’s voyage and many more secrets and surprises of winter in the beautiful setting of Kino-Teatr.

Before you collapse back in to your folding cinema seat, I’d better warn you that there’s no let-up in February, which kicks off with a home-coming gig from the genre-defying Gwyneth Herbert, back from a stint as the Snow Queen at Bristol Old Vic. Cut us some slack, please, Kino-Teatr!

If you are tempted by any of the January Kino-Teatr events, check out their website for details. Erica Smith would like to say that whilst she does not accept Pay-Ola for reviews, she thinks that she deserves a free martini for this mammoth listing.

Kino Teatr is at 43–49 Norman Road, St Leonards on Sea  TN38 0EQ. The cinema/venue is hidden behind a fancy restaurant and an art gallery specialising in Russian art and 3-dimensional pieces. It’s worth a look inside!

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