The Quiet Night Inn

Come down to CdA this Friday for The Quiet Night Inn. Enjoy meeting like minded folk in our bohemian arts space, bring some music, play some games and be merry. Doors open 8pm, £5 on the door and BYO drinks and we’ll provided the delicious food!

‘The Quiet Night Inn’ Launch Party April 4th

On 4th April we will be hosting the first of our new fortnightly event “A Quiet Night Inn” which aims to be your inside out kind of evening.  We will be providing informal suppers, an open bar and we will also be offering “BYO” with a small corkage fee.

Relax in our cosy space, meet new friends and connect with old chums, play board games, sample good wine, choose records and even get up and recite a bit of poetry if the mood takes you as we aim to have a little showcase for your creativity during the course of the evening.

All are welcome to join in this alternative to a night out in Lewes.

April 4th 7pm til late

Our special introductory launch offer includes free entry and all glasses of wine, shorts and cans are priced at £3 only!

Corkage costs: bottle of wine £4 , can of beer £1, spirits £10 per bottle

A Quiet Night Inn will continue on the first and third Friday of every month (fortnightly)

ALL ABOARD ARTHUR’S DREAM BOAT

The past few weeks we have been very lucky to have had Long Nose Puppets rehearsing their new show “Arthur’s Dream Boat” here at Café des Artistes. It has been truly delightful hearing the enchanting sounds emanating from the cyclorama and snatching previews of the magical visuals, puppetry and showmanship of this inspired team of writers performers and artists.

We have been witness to the makings of Arthur’s Dream Boat from the early days. At first we would catch glimpses of children’s author Polly  Dunbar and artist Katherine Morton through the window of their studio at CdA beginning to fashion 3d versions of the colourful characters from Polly’s new book of the same name, adorning them with bright pigments and glitter.  Then rehearsals began and Katherine and Polly asked Christian to take a few photos for promotional material.  At the shoot, we saw how the hard-work and skill of this stellar cast of performers and writers with musical direction from Tom Gray of Gomez came together to bring the book and the characters to life.

Polly and Katherine set up Long Nose Puppets together after studying illustration at Brighton University and have toured the country with their vibrant and playful puppet shows loved by children and adults alike. Their first show was adapted from the book SHOE BABY written by Polly’s mum the famous author Joyce Dunbar and illustrated by Polly. The music is also written by musican Tom Gray of Gomez. Shoe Baby has had sell out shows up and down the country and was a great success at the Edinburgh Festival. It also won the award for the best children’s show at the Brighton Festival in 2006 and was the main children’s christmas show at the Komedia in Brighton. Long Nose were invited to perform the sell out production at Downing Street for Gordon Brown’s Christmas party in the same year.

Their second show Flyaway Katie, based on the book by Polly, launched at the Komedia in December 2007 and has toured the UK. The third show Penguin had a sell out run in 2010 also at the Komedia.

As well as touring theatres and festivals, Long Nose puppets are available for school visits and puppet making workshops.

We can’t wait to see Arthur’s Dream Boat in its entirety which will begin its tour at the Komedia in Brighton. Click on the link to find out more about dates and times. We hope that Long Nose will bring the show to CdA in the New Year and maybe we can convince them to run a children’s puppet making workshop too!

POEMS FOR PEACE

SHARE, SING, SPEAK, SHOUT, CELEBRATE ALOUD 

Hello friends, it’s been a while since our last event but CdA is opening the doors for a very special gathering next Friday 21st Septmeber. We are very excited to announce that SICA has chosen our venue to host Poems for Peace Day.

S.I.C.A. stands for Subud Inter­na­tional Cul­tural Asso­ci­a­tion. Within each per­son there is a poten­tial for cre­ativ­ity and artis­tic expres­sion. SICA encour­ages cre­ative think­ing, shar­ing of feel­ings and the pro­mo­tion of inter­cul­tural friend­ship through all human endeav­our.

Poems for Peace is a global initiative ,wherever you are in the world on 21st September 2012, take a moment to share some poems or songs for peace…your own or your favourites in honour of PEACE ONE DAY. Light a candle in honor of world Peace.  If you cannot attend but have a poem or short prose piece you would like read aloud, contact Adrienne via the Facebook Page.

On Peace Day

Friday 21st September

An invitation from SICA

Doors open 7.30 programme starts at 8pm.

It’s going to be a great evening, with a great atmosphere.

For more info call Adrienne Thomas 07981 226568 and see the Facebook Page

If you have an event or a party that you would like to put on at CdA get in touch using our Contact Page.

Come back to Berlin at CdA this Saturday

It’s sexy, bawdy, dark and sinister but cabaret isn’t  just about girls writhing on chairs amidst a haze of cigarette smoke.

1918 – 1933  before Hitler’s rise to power, an impoverished Germany was on her knees, fragile and fractured by the devastation of a lost war.  Capitalism had lost it’s hold on the social order, a cloud of despair cast a dark shadow over a defeated and downcast population.

But culture during the Weimar Republic positively boomed.  It is a period associated with some of the 20th Century’s most influential and groundbreaking thinkers, philosophers, artists and architects. It produced authors like Thomas Mann who wrote about the psychology and the soul of the artist. Cast your mind back to that first philosophy lecture and remember Husserl phenomenology and Heidegger.  Think Walter Gropius and the age of Bauhaus, a fresh apolitical architectural movement that sought to unite the arts as a whole and created radically simplified forms of functionality and great design. Remember Paul Klee and his rejection of high art in favour of the outsider and the art of the insane. Think of Bertolt Brecht and his dismissal of conventional theatre.  Brecht’s “Epic Theatre” jolted the audience from their suspended disbelief and reminded them that the play is only a representation of a reality.  Couple Brecht with one of Weimar’s most influential composers, the socialist Kurt Weil and you have Saturday night at Café des Artistes.

Many of the songs in Adrienne Thomas and Hayward Slater’s show “Back to Berlin” come from Brecht and Weil’s most famous collaborations, The Threepenny Opera and Happy End, with individual gems such as Boulevard of Broken Dreams and the Soldiers Wife woven in. The haunting themes from September Song, dramatic narratives from the ubiquitous Mack the Knife and Pirate Jenny all make an appearance.

Throughout the evening Brecht’s dark humour surfaces through the drama; thought provoking and challenging; we feel clearly the beginnings of modern political and social satire made palatable by the jagged tango rhythms and sweet lyrical melodies of Kurt Weil’s musical score. The show also chronicles the background of social and political upheaval in 1930’s Berlin which inspired these narrative treasures and creates a spell binding atmosphere in which to absorb their depth and meaning. Made even more pertinent when you consider the parallels being drawn between Weimar Culture and the world today, with a burgeoning distrust in capitalism, art now is reflecting this new economic turmoil we find ourselves in.

Adrienne breathes new life into these works, her powerful voice making you tingle and causing the hairs on the back of your neck to stand to attention. Accompanied by Howard Slater, who transforms a score originally written for a small orchestra ingeniously and evocatively on his guitar, it’s guaranteed to be a special evening.

CdA will be serving Spanish inspired tablas which can be pre-ordered before the first half to enjoy in the interval. The bar will of course be open and you are encouraged to take your drinks upstairs to the show.

Doors open 7pm

Show starts 8pm

Interval 40 mins

Tickets on sale at wegottickets.com and Union Music Store Lewes.

Tickets £8.50 concessions for OAP’s and students £6.50

ARTISTS > MAKERS & THINKERS

CDA was proud to host the night ‘Artists, Makers and Thinkers’ last Friday 18th Feb.  Brainchild of Emma Carlow (Make Believe Café) and painter Dawn Stacey, it was the first in a series of events designed to bring together the creative minds of Lewes; providing a meeting place for artists and makers to connect, discuss projects, inspire new ones and get to know each other over a glass of something warming.

The night kicked off with a free drink of choice and and whilst we all started to settle in at the bar, talk about arty stuff and nosh on some crostini and fine Italian salami, Meshmass provided the crowd with some ambient sounds. Later into the night, CDA’s resident band, who are still yet to decide on a name, played us a live set and then it was back to the bar for more carousing, cough, creative chit chat, the result of which gave us the inspiration for our next event to be held in a few weeks time….watch this space for details.

Thank you to all who came that night and for signing up to our blog.  See you soon for more artistickey fun and froliks and check out Creative Lewes a forum where Lewesians can connect and share their work.

Pimped Pants

After a refreshingly retro Campari cocktail and some crostini bites, the ladies went upstairs to the  gallery to begin glamourizing their boring (new) white knickers into Valentine treats.   Strewn with antique ribbons, festooned with fairy lights and glinting sequins, our white cube was transformed by the Make Believe Café team into a craft haven with carefully embroidered garments locked in glass vitrines, the work of guest tutor Sam Reece, lining the walls and giving inspiration to the novice knicker embellishers.

Meanwhile, the boys played some snooker and the CDA team put the finishing touches to their spectacular feast of whole poached salmon clothed in cucumber scales and roast chicken flavoured with fragrant herbs. The crowning glory to this magnificent supper was an enormous chocolate and orange layer cake smothered in dark chocolate ganache and a rich creamy rice pudding infused with subtle notes of cinnamon and orange.

It was a lovely evening, thank you Make Believe Café team and we hope to see you soon for more special events, good food and good people.

Photos courtesy of Graham Carlow.

Thank you Graham!

Knickers

CDA is busy planning recipes and inventing cocktails in preparation for a cheeky little event to be held with us this Saturday 5th February.  Our friends at the Make Believe Café have planned a crafty way to transform your (or your partner’s) plain white undies into lovely lingerie in time for Valentines Day.

Bring a pair of plain NEW cotton pants and the Make Believe Café team along with expert tutor Sam Reece will help you tart up your knickers, boxers or Y-fronts and turn them into beautiful underwear.

What you need to bring:

– A smile

– A plain pack of plain cotton pants in you or your partner’s size

Included in the ticket price are all decorative materials to embellish your knickers and CDA will supply a complimentary retro cocktail + amuse bouche on arrival. The bar will be open later should you wish to linger.

See makebelievecafe.tumblr.com for inspiration and ticket details or call 07811 765 354

Make-over

Thanks to our lovely friend Emma Carlow of Make Believe Café we have a great new look to our blog.